


Coming Home

by Erdi99



Category: Stephanie Plum - Janet Evanovich
Genre: Alternate Universe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-29
Updated: 2021-02-13
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:15:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 26
Words: 45,180
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26712808
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Erdi99/pseuds/Erdi99
Summary: Story is AU Steph fled Tranton due to a scandal involving Dickie. 5 years later a stranger dressed in all black comes to find her and to get her to come back home. This is where this story starts
Relationships: Ricardo Carlos Manoso/Stephanie Plum
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11





	1. Chapter 1

"Why are you following me?" I question and look at the man dressed in all black.

We are at a standoff. My glock is pointed at his head, his is pointed at mine. If one of us shoots, the other could get seriously injured. Plus that person would never survive, well maybe if they happen to pass a hiker. But that scenario is highly unlikely, as we are in the middle of Mount Baker Snowqualmie National Forest and it is spring.

"Ranger Manoso, I was asked to find you" the Cuban looking man replies. He is military, I can tell. The way he holds himself and his buzz cut, are all a dead giveaways.

"I doubt that...so you may as well walk back the way you came" I tell him.

"Sorry, can't do that...at least not before I tell you why I am here." The man retorts and takes an envelope out of his cargo pants.

"You just said why and I gave you an answer. So walk." I growl, slowly getting annoyed.

"Mrs. Orr, I was hired by your husband's attorney to find you." The dangerous stranger throws the envelope, down before my feet, without so much as looking away from me. He has good aim, I leave him that.

"I am sorry, but I don't know a Mrs Orr. You have the wrong woman" I inform him, without so much as glancing down onto the envelope. Five years I managed to stay hidden without anyone coming to look for me. Of course my luck had to run out eventually.

"OK...my apologies. My Intel must have been off" he says, shrugs his shoulders and holsters his gun. I blink in surprise. I didn't think this guy would let up that easily. "You have yourself a good day." He nods at me, before he raises his arms in surrender and starts to walk backwards. As he is out of my shooting range, he turns around and disappears between the trees. Only then I lower my gun and slide it back in the back of my pants.

Looking down I realise that the man left the envelope. My guess is that he did that on purpose. But this guy doesn't know me. I don't care about Richard Orr, nor do I care about what it contains.


	2. Chapter 2

_Three weeks later_

_"Hi...I just wanted to let you know that I am coming to town for a few days."_

_"Do you think that is wise Stephanie?" my mother and father question at the same time. As usual they have me on loudspeaker._

_"I have to…I have no choice...They send someone to find me. It will only be for a few days and then I will be gone again, I promise." I assure them._

_"Okay…" My dad replies with a sigh, obviously realising that he cannot change my mind._

_"Are you bringing…." My mom questions and I instantly start shaking my head, before remembering that she cannot see me over the phone._

_"No, Mom. I will be coming in by myself. I don't want anyone to know" I remind them._

The Bus shakes slightly, jerking me out of my own thoughts. I take a deep breath and continue to look out off the bus windows.

What I see is familiar. Seems like nothing in the Burg has changed, except maybe a few stores, but the front lawn of each house still looks like as if they have been hand trimmed and the curtains are still just see through enough for people to look out, but no one to look in.

As the bus comes to a stop in the centre of the Burg, I take a deep breath before exiting the bus.

I take my duffle bag and then walk all the way to the apartment Building on St James and Dunworth. I found the flat to rent on airbnb. The girl, Lula, is going on holiday or something and was kind enough to sublet me her apartment.

I pick up the keys and the note with the security code from the super, Dillon, and make my way up the stairs to the second floor. I drop my bag next to the door of Apartment 215, before ripping off the note, which is sticky taped to the door, and open the apartment.

"Hey Girl, make yourself at home. There is some food in the fridge and the cupboards are stocked with tasty cakes and other bad stuff. So help yourself. If you have any problems, Dillon will be able to help you or call the number below. That number belongs to a security company called Rangemen, which my boyfriend partly owns with his friends. They are all hot guys, if you need help, give them a call. They are serious eye candy. See you soon" I read out loud, drag my duffle into the apartment and kick the door shut behind me.

The flat looks like Miami threw up on every surface. There are bright colours everywhere and there is no distinct scheme, but somehow Lula made it work. The only picture I saw on the website, was the bedroom and after walking through the whole flat, I discover that it is the only room in this place, which was kept almost neutral.

My stomach makes itself known with a loud growl and I grab a couple of Tasty Cakes, before locking up the apartment. There is something I missed while living in Newhalem, Washington State, and that is Pino's Pizza. I probably shouldn't show my face in the town's most iconic restaurant, where during lunch time I would be guaranteed to bump into people I know. But my hunger and craving for Pino's greasy Pizza is bigger.

As I enter the Restaurant, which still smells it always did, like grease and cheap air freshener, people look up and suddenly the whole room goes quiet. "Well I be damned" Joe Morelli, the Italian Stallion shouts and walks over to me. "The return of the cupcake" He grins, before pulling me in for a big hug.

Back in high school Joe and I were best friends, much to the dismay of my mother. Not only because we always sought out trouble, but also because she always saw us becoming more than just friends. I may had a crush on him for a while, but Joe always liked my sister Valerie, to whom he is married now. They have two beautiful girls and another one on the way.

"I am not your cupcake anymore" I mumble into his shoulder, making him chuckle.

"You will always be my cupcake" He says softly, as he pulls away. The nickname stuck, because I used to work at a cupcake shop, where I devoured the product more than I actually sold.

"You are not welcome here" Terri Gilman says and bumps my shoulder in passing.

"Don't listen to that old cow. She is just bitter and mean since she was left by husband number four a few days ago." Joe informs me and pulls me towards the table, where all the local cops are sitting at. Joseph Morelli is a Trenton Detective and a damn good one, from what I hear from my monthly calls with my parents.

"Sorry I gotta go, Joe" Carl Costanza says, just as I am sitting down. "Wife needs help with something."

"We just got here" Joe exclaims, but all the other cops are getting up too.

"Sorry Joe…" Big Dog claps him on his shoulder.

"I see, I am still public enemy number one" I remark dryly and grab a slice of pizza from Joe's plate.

"People have a long memory" Robin Russell points out in passing.

"Well I don't care...come and sit down" Joe says and pushes me into one of the now vacated chairs. "Pizza and a beer?"

"Sure" I nod and he waves for the waitress to come over.

"Another salami pizza with lots of cheese and two beers" Joe orders while the waitress glares at me.

"We don't serve the likes of her around here" she retorts and starts walking away.

"I will be right back" Joe says, before I can stop him and disappears in the kitchen. Seconds later the shouting starts and the whole restaurant goes quiet again.

"The pizza and beer are coming right up" Joe informs me as he sits back down minutes later with a grim face.

"Joe...you didn't had to…." I start but he stops me, by putting his hand on mine.

"This town has forgotten their manners towards guests, it was time someone reminded them" He replies.

* * *

"Thank you for dinner" I tell Joe and shoot him a smile, as we leave Pinos hours later.

"Don't worry about it. It was great to catch up with you, without my wife and our crazy family around." He says and puts an arm around my shoulders, pushing me towards his unmarked police car. "Let me drive you home."

"I am actually not staying with mom and dad. Didn't Val tell you?" I question surprised.

"Ah she may have mentioned it….don't blame you. We lived with your parents, as our house was flooded, and that was bad. Worst two months of my life, but still more preferable than living with my family." He shakes his head and opens the door for me. "So where are you staying then?"


	3. Chapter 3

"How did you find this again?" Joe asks with concern for the third time since we left Pino's and looks up at the red brick building.

"What's wrong with this place?" I question and start towards the building entrance.

"Nothing wrong with the place, just with the person who secures it." Joe mutters and I shoot him a questioning look. "Rangemen…they are a security firm, who employ gang bangers and ex-military men…" he adds as we walk up the stairs.

"Sounds like you and them don't get along" I remark and unlock the door to the apartment.

"I will tell you about it another time" he assures me.

Suddenly the alarm starts beeping very loudly, reminding me that I have to punch in the code. "Shit...shit...where is it?" I shout over the alarm and start to look around for the code frantically. I knew I should have just saved it into my phone or put the note into my bag.

"Steph...The code?" Joe asks and looks at the panel next to the door. It is a state of the art alarm system with a digital pad. If it had a proper number pad, I may would have tried to guess my way through the numbers by looking at which buttons had been used the most.

"I don't know where I left it!" I shout at him and run into the bedroom to search there, but come up empty. God dammit, this can only happen to me. "It's not…" I start as I walk back into the hallway, but stop short when two bulky man enter the apartment with their guns raised. I quickly pull my own gun out of the back of my pants and point it at the two men.

"Steph...what are you doing?" Joe questions shocked and stares at the gun in my hand, before realising that I am aiming past his head.

"Morelli...breaking and entering...interesting" The smaller man of the two walks over to the panel and punches in the code without lowering his gun.

He has chocolaty skin, spiky hair and judging by his biceps, he is in top Form. I bet if he smiles, women walk into walls. In short he is hot. The other guy has a cute face, which unfortunately he ruined with a flaming skull tattoo on his forehead. On both their shirts it says Rangemen, so I am guessing that they must belong to the company Joe was talking about.

"Santos, a pleasure as always" Joe's words are dripping with sarcasm. "Cupcake you can lower the gun...shooting them isn't worth it...creates too much of a mess." I do as I am told and as soon as my gun is tugged away safely in my pants again, the two men lower theirs as well. "Stephanie misplaced the code." Joe explains to them.

"A woman called Jane Watson is supposed to be living here in Lula's absence" the guy with the tattoo points out.

"That is me" I answer and show them my ID.

"Cupcake? First the gun now the name change?" Joe raises an eyebrow and shoots me a glare that says 'you have some explaining to do'.

"I have a licence for the gun and I really don't have to explain to you the fake ID, do I?" I glare at him.

"But you need to explain the fake ID to us." the guy named Santos says and glares at me.

"I do not...I am sorry for all of this. If you could write down the code, so this doesn't happen again, that would be much appreciated" I reply as sweet as I can.

"She is Stephanie Orr" Joe explains, as neither of them makes a move.

"Right" Santos nods and then takes a business card out of his pocket, before writing something onto the back. They must have heard the gossip. "The security code mam" he says as he hands me the card.

"Thank you" I reply and with that the two men leave.

"What the hell Steph?" Joe looks at me as if he is about to explode.

"Calm down…no need to blow your fuse" I tell him and walk into the living room to sit on the couch.

"Are you kidding me? You have a gun and a fake ID!" He almost shouts.

"Joe, come on…" I sigh. "I have the gun to protect myself. And the fake ID is so no one can find me. That was the whole purpose of me moving all the way out to Mount Baker." I point out to him.

"So why are you here cupcake?" Joe asks, obviously deciding it isn't worth fighting about this. Especially for this reason I didn't tell my family or Joe that I got a gun. As I shoot him a questioning look, he adds "Come on... you have been away for five years and suddenly you come back for a holiday?"

"Someone came to find me, to give me a letter from Dick's attorney." I inform him ad sit down on the couch.

"What does the attorney want?" Joe growls.

"He wants to speak to me. It seemed important." I say with a finality, to let him know that I am done talking about my husband.

It took me a few days after the stranger found me, to open the envelope. In letter from Dick's attorney was a request to see his attorney urgently. I figured since he sent someone to find me, it must be important, so I came to the place I swore I would never come back to.


	4. Chapter 4

**Steph's POV**

The next morning I make my way to the offices of Johnson and Partners. Dickie's lawyer is the founding partner and it is the firm my husband used to work at. I want this cleared away and I hope, whatever it is, it can be done during the time I am in town. "Hello I am here to see Mr. Johnson."

"Name?" The receptionist questions.

"Stephanie Plum" I answer. The reason I am using my maiden name, is that I do not want to be associated with the last name Orr anymore. Saying I am Stephanie Orr, makes me revert back to when I was 20 years old. And it is better to use my real name, since Mark won't recognise the false one "But I do not have an appointment. He said I could come to see him at any time."

"Unfortunately that is not possible. Without an appointment I can't let you through." She explains annoyed. My guess is that she has to repeat that line multiple times a day.

"My last name used to be Orr" I inform her, after a moment of hesitation.

"Sure Mrs. Orr, please take a seat. It may take a while though" She motions towards the waiting room and picks up the phone.

"That is fine" I assure her and get myself a coffee before taking a seat.

It is strange being back here, after everything that has happened…after so many years.

I met Richard Orr, nicknamed Dickie, as my mother invited him and his parents to dinner one night. He seemed nice, smart and was made junior partner at Johnson and Partners at the age of 25. In short: he was going places.

I, at the time at the shy age of 18, was working for EE Martin as a Lingerie Buyer, trying to figure out what to do with my life. He didn't want to be at that Dinner party as much as me and that was our first common ground. We found many more that evening and just clicked.

Two years later we got married, partly to the fact that Dickie was up to be a senior partner and partly on our mother's insistence. Shortly after the wedding he was made youngest Senior Partner in the history of Johnson and Partners. We bought a house, I learned how to cook and all was good, until he went and became a politician.

Three years later, he was elected as the Mayor of Trenton. Certain things were brought to light during the campaign, like his affair with the town whore, which I didn't know about. But I was in love so I oversaw these small things. We went on grand holidays with a private yet, bought a bigger house and new cars.

About a year into his term, rumours started floating around, that Dickie was embezzling money from the state, that he bought his election and that he owed money to the wrong people.

He assured me that all of it wasn't true and I believed him, until the night the Feds came. They had a search and arrest warrant and turned our house upside down. All the evidence they had dug up, showed that he was guilty and he cut a deal. He pleaded guilty to all charges, with the stipulation that I didn't have to testify.

Up until that point the Burg had had my back, but unfortunately a local reporter started the rumour that Dickie had taken money from his campaign, which had been donated by the good people of Trenton. After that I was declared public enemy number one.

The story was on every News Station and gossip magazine on the east coast for a long while and I was constantly followed by reporters and paparazzi. I finally had enough and as Dickie was sentenced to 10 years in prison, I fled the city. Also due to the fact that I was afraid that the bad people would be coming and asking for their money that Dickie owed.

"Stephanie…it is good to see you" Mark Johnson greets me with a big smile, jerking me back to the present, and envelopes me into a hug before I can even get a word out. Mark used to be one of the few people I genuinely liked in Dickie's social circle.

"Good to see you too" I reply with a small smile as we pull apart.

"Come, let's talk in my office" He says and guides me down the hallway to a spacious corner office.

The office is decorated with a heavy, dark wooden desk, a mocha latte coloured carpet and black leather couches. The walls are painted in a crème colour and are lined with shelves full of legal books, pictures and framed diplomas. The office is overlooking the Delaware River, which is looking a bit brown and murky today.

* * *

"I had someone find you, because none of your relatives wanted to advise me how I could reach you, or in the case of Joe Morelli, kept giving me bogus numbers." Mark explains after a bit of small talk.

"You can't blame them…I said I didn't want to be found…went through great lengths that no one would find me" I inform him. "So Mark, what is this about? I only came into town because you personally wrote that letter."

"I appreciate it…" He nods. "There is no easy way to say this, Stephanie…" Mark averts his eyes to the piece of paper in front of him. "Richard is dying. A tumour was found in his brain and the doctors are giving him about 6 months to live."

"Wow" escapes my mouth.

"He would like to see you and he knew that you wouldn't come on his request alone, so he tasked me to do so." Mark informs me.

"Why have you stuck by him all these years?" I voice the question which has been nagging me for quite some time.

"Just because he did a very stupid and bad thing doesn't mean he isn't my friend anymore." Mark explains. "Now Richard has already put you on his visitor list and I have taken the liberty to pull some strings to get you approved as a visitor. If you want I can drive you out there today."

"Uhmm….I guess" I nod. I told Dickie that I never wanted to see him again after the sentencing was over, and after all he has done it would be understandable. However my curiosity is taking over and it cannot hurt to see him one last time.

* * *

As it is almost lunch time, Traffic is bad and it takes us an hour to get to FCI Fort Dix, which is located in the New Hanover Township.

By the time we pull into the Prison's parking lot, my hands are sweaty and my heart works over time. To say I am nervous to see him in an understatement.

"You sure about this?" Mark questions again for like the 10th time since we left his office. He is worried about me, which is kind of sweet.

"Mark…you asked for this...If I wasn't sure, I wouldn't have come…I would have ignored your letter and stayed home" I reply and start walking towards the entrance.

To my surprise, it doesn't take long for me to be led into the visitor's room, where Dickie walks into the room at the same time as me.

"It is so good to see you Steph" He smiles at me, but I can't help it and just stare at him. He is not the man I remember.


	5. Chapter 5

_He is not the man I remember._

He used to dress to impress. Mostly wore expensive suits and he got his hair cut at least twice a month. Dickie used to be able to control any room as soon as he set foot in it. People would draw to him like bees to honey and he was always the centre of attention. When he spoke, he spoke with authority and people wouldn't dare to interrupt or question him; his face always full of mischief and excitement. I suppose that is why he made such a good lawyer and politician. With him my life was never boring.

The Dickie in front of me now, is far from that person. His voice is low and soft, his face white as sheet of paper and he has lost a lot of weight and hair. The orange jump suit is only hanging of his bony body.

"I know…I know…I look like shit" Dickie says, attempting a joke.

"It's not funny Dickie" I tell him, with a little more emotion than intended. All my anger at him is suddenly gone. It doesn't matter that I wished all kinds of things upon him 5 years ago, but even he didn't deserve this. I loved him and part of me probably always will, so it does hurt me to see him like this.

"No it's not…" He agrees. "Steph…I am sorry for what I did, I truly am. I screw this up royally."

"Are you trying to cleanse your soul before dying?...Let me tell you that that won't get you into heaven" I retort without hesitation, making him smile. Someone behind me gasps and I turn around to see a priest on the table next to me. "Sorry father…but you really have no idea what he is like…and the amount of porn he used to watch…no way god will oversee that, but I assume the devil will love it."

The Priest quickly crosses himself and Dickie nearly falls of the chair laughing. "I missed your quick wit" He admits as he pulls himself together.

"I don't want your apologies Dick, not like this. It would have been great all those years ago, but now…I don't need it. I admit I was holding a grudge…but coming back…maybe it is time to let go of all that." I say in all honesty.

"Did you bring her?" Dickie looks at me expectantly, but I instantly shake my head.

"There is enough hatred against me in the Burg…I cannot subject her to this." I inform him.

"I would love to see her, but if you think it's better to keep her away…." He shrugs his shoulders.

"Mark said they are giving you 6 months…the most?" I question, changing the subject.

"Yeah…" Dickie nods.

"Alright People…visiting time is over" The guard calls out and comes walking over to our table. "Time to go Orr."

"Think about bringing her?" He asks as he stands.

"Sure" I nod and touch is hand, but quickly retract it as the guard glares at me.

"Thank you" and with that Dickie is being led away from the guard.

* * *

"Cupcake…you can't be seriously thinking about this?!" Joe just looks at me as if I have grown a second head.

"I am…he is seriously ill and only has 6 months…this may be the only chance." I retort and stare at him until he sighs.

"If you want take your daughter to the prison to meet him…well that is your business….just keep in mind how this town still holds a grudge." Joe advises.

"I know…I don't want to subject Emma to this…hatred…she is his daughter, god knows how they will treat her" I sigh.

"Whatever you decide, your family and I will back you up 100%" Joe assures me and comes to sit next to me on Lula's orange couch. "Who is she staying with while you are in town?"

"Rene and Lucas… she loves staying with them at their cabin…god knows why, because they constantly gut fish and dig up worms to go fishing…urgg" I shudder, making Joe laugh.

"Cupcake, you should be used to that by now…where you live is full on nature" Joe grins.

"I have gotten used to a lot of things, but gutting an animal is not my favourite things to do…hence be getting the fish or any other animal products from Rene and Lucas" I retort.

* * *

_Four weeks later_

"He is getting worse and is asking if you are going to bring Emma down" Mark informs me.

"Mark" I sigh and massage my temple with my right hand, as I am holding the phone with the left. "I don't know if I can subject Emma to this…"

"If you are worried for your safety…I can arrange something" Mark suggests.

"No it's fine…." I sigh again. Damn "Ok… I will come down next week..." I give in, before I can change my mind. I know I am a push over, but seeing Dickie four weeks ago, just made me realize that Emma will never have the chance to meet her father. He will die in prison.

"Thank you, I see you then" And with that Mark cuts the line.


	6. Chapter 6

_One week later_

"You sure you don't want us to come with you?" Rene questions with a worried look.

"No…we will be fine…right Emma?" I look at my daughter and she smiles excitedly at me. She has never been far away from this place, due to us not having money. This is her first big trip in an airplane and she hasn't spoken about anything else since I told her we were going to see grandma and granddad.

"Well, be careful…ok…Lucas or I can come and get you from wherever you want" Rene adds, just as Lucas gets the rest of our luggage from the trunk of my car. They will take my car back to my house.

"Are you sure you are going to be ok at the store?" I ask.

"Moommmm…let's go" Emma tugs at my hand impatiently.

"One more minute, princess" I tell her and look back at the two men in front of us.

"Steph…don't worry. We will survive a week without you." Lucas smiles.

"Okay then" I smile back and hug both of them, before I sit Emma on top of our Luggage trolley.

"Have a good trip" Lucas high fives Emma and Rene gives her a kiss on her cheek. "And a lot of fun."

"We will" I smile and push through the doors of the airport.

I met Rene and Lucas five years ago as I first moved here. There were looking for a Sales assistant at their store 'The Wildlife', which had just opened, where they sell anything to do with the great outdoors. From camping to skiing gear. Attached to the shop is a butcher, which also belongs to the two men.

To my surprise I didn't have to persuade them and got the job a minute after walking into the store. Since Rene and Lucas spend most of their time in the butcher shop, I rose the ranks to Manager quite quickly.

During my time there, we became great friends and the two men a very important part of mine and Emma's life.

* * *

"Wow" Emma's face is lights up with excitement, as we roll down the runway in full speed.

"Look how tiny everything is becoming" I point out the window and her eyes grow even bigger.

"Mom, this is awesome" She breathes and for the rest of the flight doesn't say another word. Instead she watches the clouds pass by and the tiny places below them.

* * *

"UNCLE JOE" Emma shouts and runs towards him, as she sees Joe waiting in the Arrivals area.

"Hey Mini Cupcake" Joe lifts her up and twirls her around. "You have gotten big and heavy." It's been nearly a year since he last saw her in person. The trip out there is quite expensive for a family of four.

"Of Course" She beams. "I am a growing girl."

"I know Mini Cupcake" Joe gives me a kiss on the cheek and places Emma on top of our luggage, before taking the trolley from me.

"You really have to stop calling us cupcakes…we are not food" I tell him, with mock annoyance.

"Cupcake…please" Joe shoots me a look. "I know you are not food" He adds and pretends to eat Emma's arm, which makes her giggle.

In junior year of High School, my sister baked a tonne of cupcakes. She wanted to sell them to gather funds for their cheerleading trip to New York.

Val was pushing the trolley out of the teachers' lounge just as I came flying down the hallway at maximum speed on Joe's new skateboard. I couldn't break in time and ran right into the trolley. Cupcakes were stuck to every part of my body and from that point forward Joe called me Cupcake, much to my dismay.

"Where is the Calvary?" I ask and look around.

"I left them at home. Be warned though... the whole family has come together at your parents place" He says.

"Great" I sigh and mentally prepare myself for a crazy evening.

"You staying at that apartment again?" Joe probes.

"Yes. I asked Lula and she was more than happy to vacate her apartment once again. She said something about trying to get herself engaged to her man." I smile at the memory of skyping with her the other day. I really like her.

"She is a character" Joe nods. He met her briefly, as I left town the last time.

* * *

"Why can't you just stay here?" My mom asks for the millionth time.

"Mom, there are already three living here. We all will be more comfortable when Emma and I can have our own bathroom." I explain again, when we step out of my parents' house.

It's been an eventful evening and I just want to go to the apartment and relax. Emma is already fast asleep in Joe's arms and is being carried to Big blue, my grandmothers a '53 powder blue Buick, right this second.

"Well you are coming for breakfast tomorrow morning before you leave" My mother orders. "I will makes Pancakes."

"Sold!" I reply instantly, making her smile.

"See you in the morning Stephanie" She kisses my cheek and then closes the door behind me.

"What an evening huh?" My sister says as I approach Big Blue.

"Family is exhausting" I yawn. "Grandma's dress was really short and I saw things I can never un-see."

"That is one of her better outfits" Val shakes her head. "See you tomorrow Sis" She hugs me and then turns towards her own car, in which Joe is already waiting for her.

It is very strange being back here and having the whole family together. When I was in my teenage years we didn't really get along. Val was the perfect child, the do-gooder, and I was rowdy and rather wore jeans than the dresses my mother bought.

But my marriage to Dickie changed everything. Maybe it was because my mother finally approved of something I did. When everything came out and Dickie was arrested, she apologised to me for setting us up, which surprised the hell out of me.

With a sigh, I close the passenger door and walk around the car. As I look up and glance at the house next to my parents place, I can see the curtains moving. _Nosy Neighbours!_

* * *

"This is where my dad lives?" Emma questions when I pull into the Prison's parking lot the next afternoon.

We had a huge breakfast at my parent's house, before we went on our way. I have told her about Dickie and shown her pictures, I just never wanted her to see him behind bars. I always thought we could be somewhat of a dysfunctional family once he got out, but that is not going to happen now.

"Yes" I nod and help her unbuckle.

"That is sad. There are no trees around" She comments, making me smile.

"That is sad" I nod. "But remember I told you that your dad did a bad thing" I look at her and she nods. "Well when people do a bad thing, they go to prison to live there for a while." I remind her.

"And this place made him sick?" She probes and takes my hand, as we walk across the parking lot.

"No, this place didn't make him sick. Your father's body isn't as healthy as mine or yours" _How do you explain cancer to a five year old so that she can understand?_ I have no idea. I tried and miserably failed.

"Maybe he needs to eat more Twinkies and doughnuts...they always make me feel better" Emma says and a grin breaks out in my face. I cannot deny that she is my daughter.

* * *

"Why are there bars on the windows?" Emma questions and looks at the Guard, who is checking my bag.

"So that the bad people can't get out" The guard smiles at her, before turning to me. "You are free to go through and wait over there. You will be called in shortly."

"That is smart" Emma nods and walks over to where the guard is pointing.

* * *

"Hi Emma" Dickie smiles at her as he sits down at our table.

"Hi" she replies shyly. "Are you my Dad?"

"I am" Dickie nods. "Your mom told me that you are going to school soon" He says and Emma only nods her head. "Are you excited?"

"Yes" She answers. "Why are you all look like bin man?"

"That is what we have to wear. So the guards can identify us." Dickie replies.

"So all bad people wear orange?" She probes.

"In here they do, yes" Dickie nods.

"I want to be a bad person too Mom" Emma announces and looks at me all earnestly. "I like orange." She adds loudly and Dickie, and a couple of other inmates close by, smile.

"But then you would need to leave your Mom and live with me." Dick points out to her.

"And I would be really sad." I pout.

"Do they have ice cream here?" Emma questions, suddenly changing the subject.

"Sorry Emma, they don't. Only for special occasions" I tell her and brush her longs bangs out of her face.

"Then everybody in here must be pretty sad. I mean ice cream always cheers me up. What do they have here to cheer them up?" Emma looks at Dickie to get an answer.

Somewhere further away I hear someone mutter "We shank people to lighten up" and I nearly choke on my own spit.

"Why don't you go over there and draw a picture for me?" Dickie says and points to the small table in the play area, where a few kids are already playing around.

"How are you feeling Dickie?" I ask, as Emma is out of hearing range. He looks worse than the last time I saw him.

"I am okay. Thank you for bringing her" He shoots me a grateful smile. "I really appreciate it."

"You are welcome. I just hate that it has to be under these circumstances." I answer.

"So Emma, what is your favourite animal?" Dickie asks as Emma comes back to get her pink hair band from me.

"A mountain lion" She answers, when I put the band around her head, to keep her curls out of her face.

"Let's take a picture, before you go back to drawing" I suggest and ask a guard to take one with the camera I brought. Something tells me that this is the only chance I will ever get to take a picture of the three of us together. I will frame it and put it in Emma's room.

"Mountain lion?" He raises an eyebrow in question, after Emma is back at the kids table.

"Friends of mine had mountain lion cubs and she helped feed them. Since then she is obsessed with them." I explain.

"She looks a lot like me as a child, just with your crazy curls" He comments after a few minutes of watching Emma draw. Today she is wearing her favourite knee length shorts, a Toy Story 3 T-shirt, with her wild, shoulder length curls standing up into every direction, if it wasn't for the hairband keeping them out of her face, she wouldn't be able to see.

"Unfortunately she has my attitude and some of my worst characteristics" I smile.

"I am not envying you when she hits the teenage years" He says and his smile turns sad. "I am sorry I won't be there to help out."

"It is fine." I brush it off. "We were fine the last five years, we will be fine for the coming years too."

"Does she have your appetite for food?" Dickie asks with a grin.

"In that department she has inherited my genes" I smile proudly.

"I…" he starts, but his eyes roll into the back of his head and he falls of the bench.

"Mom?" Emma looks at me with big eyes and then at Dickie, who is starting to seize.

"Just stay there" I order, grab my bag and jump up to help him. "Someone help!" I call out as I kneel next to him and try to put the strap of my bag in his mouth so that he doesn't bite his tongue.

One of the guards instantly approaches and helps me to roll him onto his side, to hopefully prevent Dickie from choking. Not soon after the medical staff appears with a stretcher. They load Dickie on it and roll him away.

"Mam, are you okay?" The guard questions and guides me back to the table, where another guard is interacting with Emma. As I look around the room, I realize that they have cleared everyone out.

"Yeah…I am okay" I nod.

"Is there someone we can call?" He probes, but I shake my head.

"Can we see him?" I ask, but the guard instantly shakes his head as well.

"The doctors are working on him now. We can give you a call once he is stable, then you can come and visit." He replies.

"Thank you" I nod and walk over to where Emma is talking to the guard.

"Will he be okay?" Emma questions as I kneel next to her.

"I don't know princess" I answer honestly. "Let's drive back and get a large pizza." Comfort food seems like a good idea right about now.


	7. Chapter 7

The whole drive back, my thoughts and worries are with Dick. I know I am a hypocrite. For five years I didn't give a damn and now he is all I can think about.

Once we are back in Trenton, I drive to Pinos. It is the quickest and best place to get the Pizza I desire, even if that means facing the Burg people. I just don't have the energy to drive around and find another place.

When we enter the Restaurant and the bell above the door rings, the place goes quite once again. "Alright, what do you want?" I ask, look at Emma and try to ignore the prying eyes. I am sure by now everybody knows about her. The Burg gossip hotlines must have been on fire last night.

"Large Salami Pizza with extra cheese" She instantly replies.

"And what can I get you Mrs. Orr?" Pino himself is behind the counter today and he says my name with great disdain.

"Same please. For take away" I inform him and point towards a couple of stools at the bar. "We will wait over there." It would be a fruitless effort to try to get him to stop calling me Mrs. Orr.

The door opens once more and in pour multiple men dressed in all black with Rangemen written on on their chest. The guy named Santos, who I met in Lula's apartment winks at me, before the whole group proceeds to a table in the back of the Restaurant.

"Where are Ranger and Tank?" The guy with the skull tattoo questions. _Ranger….where have I heard that name before?_

"On their way…" a black man with dreadlocks replies.

"Can we eat here?" Emma questions suddenly and I miss whatever else the man said.

"Excuse me?" I try to draw the attention of the woman behind the bar, but she just ignores me. "Excuse me?" I ask again, but without result. I march over to the counter and wait for Pino to finish serving the customers ahead of me.

"Anything else Mrs. Orr?" He questions, again with great disdain in his voice.

"I want to change my order. Please make it to eat in." I inform him.

"Sorry, we are fully booked" Pino answers and I look around the restaurant. Apart from the guys in the back and two couples close to the window, there is no one else in here.

"The restaurant is empty" I point out.

"As I said we are fully booked. It needs to be for take away" He replies and disappears in the kitchen.

"Sorry Princess, we need to take the food to go" I tell my daughter as I sit down next to her.

"Why?" She probes. "There is no one here."

 _Because your mother is public enemy number one?_ "They don't have enough plates left" I lie.

"She can have my plate" The guy named Santos says behind me, making me nearly jump from my seat.

"Hi" I smile at him.

"It's nice to see you again. Especially since you do not have a gun pointed at my head this time." He replies with a smile of his own. He is seriously gorgeous and obviously a big flirt.

"Who are you?" Emma looks at him curiously.

"I am a friend of your Mom's. My name is Lester" He holds out his hand for Emma to shake. "And what is your name?"

"My name is Emma" She says and shakes his hand. Lester pretends that she has a really strong grip, which forces him to the ground, making Emma, and me, giggle in the process.

In that same moment the door opens once again and through walks a giant black man with a shaved head and right behind him the stranger from the woods. Ranger. We lock eyes and for a moment there is surprise written all over his face, before he catches himself and assumes a neutral expression.

"Mom look I am sooo strong" She laughs some more, while Lester pretends to be in even more agony.

"Santos" The stranger says, as he comes up behind his colleague on the ground and nods at him, before focusing his eyes back on me. The giant has moved onto the table in the back.

"Hey Ranger, this is Emma and her mother…?" Lester looks at me and stands.

"Steph" I fill in and hold my hand out for Ranger to shake.

"We have met" Ranger nods and shakes my hand.

"We have indeed" I smile.

"Where?" Lester instantly asks out of curiosity.

"In the woods" I answer quickly, before Lester assumes god knows what.

"I have a feeling there is a story behind that" Lester wiggles his eyebrows and his eyes bounce back and forth between Ranger and me, obviously hoping one of us will spill the beans.

Thankfully, in that moment Pino almost throws my pizzas onto the bar "Your Pizzas."

"Thank you" I hand him some money and help Emma of the stool. Burg Manners are hard to let go off, no matter how rude the people are.

"You are already leaving?" Lester questions disappointed.

"Yes" I nod.

"You should come and sit with us" He motions with his head towards the big group of guys. "I was hoping I could challenge the little one to an arm wrestling match, which I am sure I would win."

"In your dreams" Emma answers cheekily and I have to bite back a grin. I really have to talk to Rene and Lucas to watch what they say around her. Can't have her sassing people before she hits her teenage years.

"That isn't a good idea. We should get home" I reply. Emma's face turns sad and before I can add anything, my phone starts ringing. "Sorry, I need to take this. Emma can you wait here for one second? I will be right over there" I tell her and point towards a quieter corner, where an old pay phone is hanging.

"We will keep an eye on her" Lester assures me and claims the seat I just vacated.

For a moment I am torn, because they are both strangers, but as my phone stops and instantly starts ringing again, I decide to trust them. "Hello?"

"This is Warden Rodgers from FCI Fort Dix, am I speaking to Stephanie Orr?" The person on the other end questions.

"Yes, you are" I confirm and a bad feeling settles itself into the pit of my stomach, as I walk to the quieter corner.

"Mrs. Orr I am sorry to inform you, that Richard Orr died half an hour ago. The Doctors tried everything in their power, but were unsuccessful. They assume, that the tumour caused the seizures, but we cannot be sure until an autopsies has been performed." The warden explains and when I don't answer he adds "Mrs. Orr are you still there?"

I want to answer, but can't. My mouth won't open and my heart is beating a mile a minute, all the while my mind is trying to make sense of what I just heard. Dickie. Dead.

Someone pushes me against the wall and takes the phone out of my hands. I want to protest, but nothing comes out of my mouth. I am in a trance, with my eyes focused on Emma, who is laughing with Lester.

Suddenly Ranger's head appears in front of my line of sight, with a worried expression on his face. He is saying something, but I can't hear him. He pushes me to the ground and my head between my knees, while rubbing my back in a soothing motion.

Slowly my hearing returns. He keeps saying "Breathe" over and over again.

"Emma?" I question as I finally pull myself together.

"She is fine. Lester is keeping her occupied." And in that moment I hear her laugh and my heart starts aching. She will never know him. This meeting today was all she will ever get and it is my fault. I shouldn't have kept her from him.

"You couldn't have known" Ranger says. When I shoot him a confused look, he adds "You said that out loud"

"I need to get her home. I need to tell his family and my family and…god… there is so much to do" My mind goes into overdrive. I need to make a list.

"Come with me" He says and pulls me of the ground.

"Where are we going?" I ask when he pushes me through the back door into an empty backyard. Apart from big bins, a sad looking tree and a small bench there is nothing back here "Emma?"

"She will be fine with Lester. Sit" He motions to the bench and once I sit, he hands me my pizza. "Eat"

"Are you always this bossy?" I ask and pull my sunglasses over my eyes.

"Yes" He simply answers, sits down next to me and also pulls his own black shades over his eyes. I open the box, but close it instantly as I realize that my appetite is gone.

"I don't even know why I am so upset?" I blurt out. "I have been a single parent for 5 years and then he has to come and mess up my quiet, simple life." Once I start there is no stopping me. I get up and pace the length of the small space behind Pino's Restaurant.

"I don't even love him anymore. But part of me was hoping he'd get out of prison and be there for Emma. I mean Rene and Lucas are trying their best to fill these fatherly shoes, but to be honest it is not their job. It is supposed to be Dickie's.

Now she won't have a father to take to Daddy daughter dances, who will scare the boys away when she is too young to be dating and there won't be anyone to walk her down the aisle when she gets married…And it is my fault that she only got to meet her father once.

I shouldn't have moved away, I should have stayed, divorced his ass and taken her to see him. She is going to hate me" I stop, flop back next to him onto the bench and bury my face into my hands. "She is going to hate me and she will have daddy issues…Big fat Daddy issues."

"I think she will be fine" Ranger says and pries my hands away from my face. "You have done well so far. And Rene and Lucas seem to be good guys, at least on paper."

"What do you mean on paper?" I narrow my eyes at him.

"I ran a background search on you and all your associates, before I came to find you." He admits and does not seem the least bit sorry. "I have to say I am impressed, you were kind of hard to find."

"Really?" I question proudly. I should be appalled that he run a background search on everybody I know, but the fact that he said I was hard to find makes me smile.

"Yes" He smiles as well. "You hid your trail very well."

"How did you end up finding me?" I ask curiously.

"Your parents" Ranger informs me. "I had to go 5 years back in their bank statements, to find that they had transferred money multiple times to an account in the name of Jane Watson. After that it was easy."

"I should be annoyed that you ran background searches and checked my parents bank statements, but I feel too proud that you had a hard time finding me" I grin.

"You should. Because that is what my company specialises in…finding people that don't want to be found." He clarifies. "If it is hard for me…that says something."

"Your company?" I raise an eyebrow in question.

"Rangemen" He points at the stitching on his very muscular chest. "We hunt criminals who missed their court dates. The fact that I couldn't easily locate a Burg housewife kind of annoyed me."

"Good" I grin, before my mind drifts back to Emma and the grin falls of my lips. "I don't know how I am going explain this one to her."


	8. Chapter 8

_One Week later_

I stare at the coffin, which is being lowered into the ground. The medical examiner concluded that the seizures were caused by the tumour in his head and that there had been nothing the doctors could have done more for him.

Behind me, the rows are full of people. Most of them only came to see if he is really dead. The person that they once saw as the golden boy of Trenton, betrayed them and they are all glad to see him gone.

Dickies parents decided not to come. They cut all contact to him after all that happened and told me when I called with the news a week ago: ' _Unfortunately we are unable to make it. We are flying to Hawaii that day._ ' God forbid they missed their holiday for their only son's funeral.

My mom had asked why I wanted to have a funeral for him and I simply told her that I wanted to say goodbye properly. He may have done a bad thing, but he also had done a lot of good. He deserved a proper sent off.

Sitting beside me to my right is Emma, with Rene and Lucas on her other side. I am grateful that they came all the way to support me.

As one guest after the other walks past the coffin and then past me and my family, I hear Robin Russell say "Good Riddance Asshole."

But unfortunately, before I can open my mouth to put her in her place, Mark Johnson comes up to me. "Stephanie, my condolences." He shakes my hand. "We need to talk. Would you be able to come by my office tomorrow?"

"Sure" I nod. "10 am good for you?"

"I will see you then" He hugs me tight and places a kiss on my cheek.

After we are done at the graveyard, we go back to my parents place for the wake.

The whole day is tiring and exhausting. By the time the last guests leave, I am ready to fall into bed and sleep for a week straight. But as I close the door to the apartment, which Lula graciously rented to me for another week, and nothing but silence greets me, my mind goes into overdrive. I think about anything and everything and nothing helps to get me to sleep.

Unfortunately Emma is sleeping at my parents place tonight. My mom insisted that I get a night alone, to give me a break, but I would be really happy to have her here right now.

By 12 am I give up, pull on my trainers, yoga pants and an old Metallica t-shirt, before grabbing the apartment keys and heading out.

I start of at a slow pace, but my strides get longer and before I know it I am full on running. It doesn't take long for my shirt to get soaked with sweat and for my muscles to ache in protest, but I keep going.

The past week has been crazy. Organizing a funeral isn't an easy thing, especially if it is for the most hated person in the history of Trenton. I had to threaten a priest, the funeral home and the florist in order to get what I wanted. It was taxing to say the least.

On top of that Emma was asking constantly questions about death, what happens when we die and where we go after, that made the whole thing even more unbearable. I am grateful for my family, who supported me the whole way.

"I see I am not the only one still awake" A voice next to me says, making me jump and nearly lose my footing.

"Jesus…Ranger!" I exclaim. I haven't seen him since that day at Pino's, where he was kind enough to listen to my rant. "You can't sneak up on a girl like that!"

"I am sorry, I thought you heard me approach" He shoots me an apologetic look. "You have to be more aware of your surroundings."

"Right" I snort. I was in deep thought. There is no way I would have heard him coming.

We fall silent. The only sound is coming from our feet hitting the pavement and the music from his headphones, which are hanging loosely around his shoulders.

By the time we reach Veterans Park, I am drenched in sweat and out of breath. "You go on…I need to slow down" I say and pace myself down to a mild jog, before slowing down to a brisk walking pace.

"Water?" He questions and hands me one of the bottles he is carrying.

"Thanks" I nod and for the first time I look at him properly. He is wearing a black T-shirt. The sleeves were cut off, putting his very muscular biceps on display. His loose fitting basketball shorts are hanging low on his hips and his feet are stuffed into Nike running shoes. "How are you not drenched in sweat?" I stop, put my hands on my legs and hang my head low to catch a breath. My legs are on fire.

"I run 10 miles each day" He shrugs, as if it is no big deal.

"Why would you do that out of your own free will?" I question, shake my head and turn to look at him.

"Old habit." He admits. "The Military has drilled certain things into me since I was 18. Hard to drop those habits"

"You were Military?" I ask, before drowning half the bottle of water.

"Yes Mam" He nods and we start walking at a slow pace again.

"How long?" I probe.

"Technically I still am. Only do special missions now." Ranger answers.

"Why were you hired to find me?" I voice the question that has been in the back of my mind since the last time we met. "They could have easily hired a PI. Seems a bit of an overkill to get an Ex-Military man involved!"

"Our Lawyer and friend, John Westwick, works for Mark." Ranger explains. "Besides, a normal PI would have taken a lot longer to find you. Like I said the last time we saw each other, you were hard to find. Normal P.I.'s don't have the same resources at their disposal that I do."

"Such as hacking in my parents bank details?" I raise an eyebrow in question.

"My employees are very resourceful" He admits.

"Joe doesn't seem to like you or your company" I point out.

"He doesn't believe that Ex Gang Members can turn their life around. The detective thinks that we are a bunch of criminals" Ranger shrugs.

"And are you?" I ask bluntly. Dickie taught me that if you want to find out the truth, don't beat around the bush. Ask a direct question and look them straight in the eyes. Of course there is always a chance that the person you are talking to is a very good liar.

"No" He answers without hesitation, making me believe him.

We comfortably walk in silence side by side for a while. It is nice and warm, the stars are out and there is a mild breeze playing with the my hair on the back of my neck.

"I am sorry for you loss" Ranger suddenly says, breaking our silence.

"It's fine" I nod.

"How are you holding up?" He probes.

"Good... Better than that day." I tell him.

"You know Emma is not going to hate you. She seems to have plenty of people around who love her" He assures me.

"I know. But I still cannot help to feel guilty." I admit. "Five years ago I felt like I did the right thing, now I am not so sure anymore."

"We shouldn't regret the choices we made. They were for the best at the time we made them" For a moment his eyes are filled with regret, but it vanishes a second later.

"We?" I ask, having not missed his choice of words.

"I have a daughter" Ranger confesses. "She is 12 years old now, lives in Florida with her mother and I signed my rights away as she was born."

He looks everywhere but me and I decide to keep quiet and wait him out. "I married Rachel, my now ex-wife, because she was pregnant. But we divorced shortly after. I had just signed up with the Rangers and I was never home. Rachel met Ron and he was willing to adopt Julie."

"Are you still in touch?" I ask carefully.

"Barely. Julie knows I exist, but the relationship is strained to say the least. My ex-wife isn't my biggest fan" He runs his hands over his head. His hair is cut short at the sides and at the back of his head, with the longer hair on top tied together.

"I am sorry to hear." I can't imagine what it must be like for him. Not being able to see your child or have no contact with her.

' _You should know, you deprived Dickie of it for five years_ ' the little devil on my right shoulder says.

' _That was different. Ranger is more than capable of travelling to see her, whereas Dickie had to stay in one place. Besides he caused you great headache and humiliation. He had no right._ ' The snotty angel on my left shoulder says and crosses her arms.

"I don't even know why I am telling you this. Besides my parents and the core team at Rangemen, no one knows." Ranger informs me.

"I was told I am an easy person to talk to" I smile at him. "And don't worry, your secret is safe with me."


	9. chapter 9

_The next morning_

"Are you okay?" Mark questions with concern, as I yawn for the fifth time in the last two minutes.

I didn't get much sleep last night, because Ranger and I kept walking around Veterans Park until 4 am. We just talked and he ended up walking me home. It was a nice evening. I haven't done this since I was a teenager and my crush and I had to stay in public places for our dates.

"I am fine" I smile at Mark. "So what is this about?"

"Dickie's Will" Mark says and shuffles a few papers around.

"Excuse me? Did you just say his Will?" I ask and Mark only nods to answer. "He doesn't have anything in his name anymore. We sold of the houses, boat and cars to pay back what we owed. All our savings were given back to the state. There can't be anything left."

"Well, you are wrong." Mark informs me and looks up, as he finds what he was looking for. "Dickie has left you a substantial amount of money and a house in Trenton."

"This has to be a joke" I say flabbergasted.

"Not a joke." He tells me and hands me an envelope. "I will leave you alone so you can read this."

Mark stands and leaves the room, leaving me staring at the envelope in my hands. I take a deep breath and rip it open. A Single, folded piece of paper falls out.

_'Steph,_

_I bet you just looked at Mark totally shocked and asked him if this is a joke. Believe me and him, when we tell you it is not._

_You remember the house we looked at just months before I was arrested? The one in Lawrenceville right on the edge of Mercer Meadows? You fell in love with that run down building instantly, even though you didn't admit it to me. I saw it in your eyes how much you wanted it._

_I bought the house through a shell company under an Alias. I knew what was coming and wanted you and Emma to have a home. (Don't scowl at me now). I had it fixed up and I hope you will like it. Mark has the keys as well as the deed. It is all yours!_

_Part of me hopes that you won't sell it and move back here. Don't stay away because of the people in the Burg. It's been five years, surly someone by now has screwed up worse than me. And I also know that you miss your family, even though we haven't talked or seen each other in five years._

_I have left also a good chunk of money in a Swiss bank account for you and Emma. Maybe you can open a lingerie Store, like you always wanted. If you don't want it, save it and spend it on Emma's education._

_Hindsight is a beautiful thing. If I'd get a do-over, I would do everything differently. Be a better husband, a better father and all around a better person. But unfortunately life doesn't give you do-overs and since you are reading this, it means that I am dead._

_Never, not for a single moment, doubt that I didn't, that I don't, love you with all my heart. The day you married me made me the luckiest and happiest man on the planet. And I screwed that up._

_I am so sorry, Steph. For everything that happened, for the lies I told and the heartache I caused. You deserved better._

_I wish I could be there for you. I wish I could see Emma grow up. I had planned on getting out of here and try to be a father to Emma and a friend to you._

_Thank you for standing by me, for not divorcing me. I know it must have been hard for you._

_I love you!_

_Forever yours,_

_Richard_

I swallow hard, bite back the tears and stand. I walk over to the big windows and look down at the river. Today it isn't as brown. The sun is shining brightly and the sky is blue.

"You ok?" Mark questions behind me, which startles me a little. I really need to be more aware of my surroundings.

"How much money did he leave us?" I find myself asking quietly.

"A little over 800 000 Dollars" He informs me.

"Jesus" I close my eyes and sigh.

"Since all your debts have been settled, it is all yours." Mark tells me and places a hand on my shoulder.

"I don't understand why he didn't say anything before…about the house and the money" I say.

"He knew you wouldn't have come back and he planned on showing you the house himself. Dickie hoped that you guys would be on talking terms." Mark answers.

"He wanted to buy our affection?" I scoff and shake my head.

"No" Marks says and squeezes my shoulder. "Dickie always said you had more honour and dignity than he ever had. He knew that he would never be able to buy you…He wanted to make amends."

"A little too late" I say in a vile tone, but instantly wince. "I am sorry Mark…that was uncalled for… This whole thing, being back here has caused old feeling to rise up. I am not angry at Dickie anymore."

"It's fine. He expected you to be kicking and screaming" Mark chuckles.

"He knew me too well" I nod. "I threw a vase at him once…missed his head by inches. I was just so angry at him for constantly leaving his dirty socks everywhere." I smile at the memory and his shocked expression. After that he put his socks into the hamper, where they belonged. "You have the keys, deed and address to the house?"

"Sure" He nods, walks over to his desk, to get the requested things. "There you go" He hands them to me. "The top envelope is for Emma once she is old enough to read it."

"Thank you" I nod, place a kiss on his cheek and walk out of the office.

* * *

Half an hour later, I stare at the house in front of me and take a deep breath.

A couple of steps are leading up to the two story Victorian style house, which has a covered porch leading all the way around the house. It has a small balcony on the first floor and the roof is pointy, with the left hand side having a small tower on top. The house itself is painted in a light yellow, with the doors, windows and the fence around the porch painted in white.

Someone must have kept up the garden, as the grass is freshly and neatly cut, like every other yard in this neighbourhood. I can see a swing set and sand box further down the property.

I hear a car approach and turn my head. The black SUV comes to a halt right behind my car and Ranger gets out of it just seconds later. "Thank you for coming" I tell him, as he approaches. I wanted someone here when I went into the house. And since I know how my family will react to all of this, I decided to call Ranger.

I got his number from Mark, who handed it to me with a wink.

"No worries." He nods and leans next to me against my car. Ranger is dressed from head to toe in black again, with a gun strapped to his right leg and steel cap boots on his feet. Black sun glasses are hiding his eyes and his jet black hair is held back with a lucky band. All together he looks hot and gives off a dangerous vibe.

"You look like you are about to go into combat" I observe. The only thing is missing is the Kevlar vest.

"I left it in the car" He informs me, making me realise that I once again said that out loud. "We did a takedown and I came straight from there…So what are we doing here?"

"Apparently this is my house, plus a tonne of money in a Swiss bank account" I inform him and stare at the house again. "He knew it was coming and didn't say anything."

"You want to go inside?" He asks and nods towards the house.

"I did, but now that I am here, I am not so sure." I confess.

"We do it together" Ranger holds out his left hand and I hesitate for a moment, before putting mine into his. Our fingers intertwine and small butterflies start flapping their wings in my stomach. They get worse as he starts running small circles with his thumb. I am sure he meant for that to calm me down, but my hormones are doing a happy dance at the moment, which is the exact opposite of calm.

He shoots me an encouraging smile and together we walk up the stairs. I hand the key to Ranger to open the door and he lets go of my hand, puts the key in the lock and pushes the door open. "You will be fine" He assures me, takes my hand again and pulls me over the threshold.

The inside is stunning and I am momentarily speechless. Straight ahead are carpeted stairs, which lead up to the first floor and a hallway leading to the back of the building.

To my left is a large open plan living room, which has been tastefully decorated with crème couches, a light crème rug beneath them to protect the wooden floor, facing a big flat screen TV. The windows have been covered with white flowy curtains and the walls have been painted in a light lemon colour. Only a small wall is separating the hallway and the living room, where the stairs start.

To my right is the dining room, which has one wall painted in a milky coffee colour and the rest is coloured in white. There is a heavy wooden dining table sitting in the middle, with 6 chairs around it. I recognise the table, as it is the one from our old house. It was the first piece of furniture Dickie and I picked out together.

I don't waste time exploring those two rooms, instead I let go of Ranger's hand and walk down the hallway, past a small room under the stairs, which holds a toilet and a sink.

When we enter the kitchen, it is clear that a wall had been knocked down, in favour of bringing more light to the room. The kitchen is covering more than half of the back of the house, with only the mud room and a pantry occupying a small space further to the right.

The cub boards, drawers, counter tops and Kitchen Island are painted in an off white colour, offset by a dark wooden floor. The large window above the sink is looking right out into the backyard with Mercer Meadows Park just starting at the edge of the property line. A door on the right to me leads out onto the veranda.

"He has decorated it exactly how I would have" I say amazed, turn around and walk up the stairs.

The hallway on the second floor is wooden as well and there are four doors. Each painted white. I discover that each is a bedroom, with the Master bedroom, being the biggest. The master bedroom has a king seize bed, again a crème carpet big windows, an en-suite bathroom and a walk-in wardrobe.

One of the other bedrooms has stairs leading into the small tower. There is a desk, a big bookcase and under the window is a seating area, which I can imagine Emma sitting on, devouring books.

"This house is amazing" I comment and look out the window into the backyard. I heard him following me almost as silent as cat. "Shame that I cannot live in it."

"Why not?" Ranger probes and comes closer.

"I live in Newhalem." I state. "Emma has made friends there, I have a job."

"Sounds to me like a bunch of excuses" He retorts, making me turn towards him.

"I can't just uproot my life, because Dickie bought me this house and left me a bunch of money." I exclaim.

"But you can live in exile your whole live?" Ranger raises an eyebrow in question.

Part of me knows he is right, but only a very small part. "I don't have a choice. This town hates me and it will be bad for Emma. She will hear nasty things being said about her family and father. I cannot subject her to this" I reply.

"Steph, Emma would be closer to her family. She will make new friends and the Burg will get over it. You cannot live your life running away from these people and your problems." He says softly, just before his phone rings. "Report….Understood. Be right there."

"Duty Calls" I observe.

"Yes." He nods. "They found one of our FTA's who we have been looking for, for quite some time." He explains and the both of us start making our way back down to the ground floor.

He walks ahead of me, which gives me plenty of opportunity to admire is obviously muscled back, his great ass and long, strong legs.

"Thank you for coming" I say again and smile at him, when we walk out onto the front porch.

"Any time" He nods. "Listen, don't put your life on pause, just because the people in this town don't know how to move on."

I just nod and on impulse, I wrap my arms around his neck and pull him in for a hug. Ranger seems momentarily shocked, before he relaxes and wraps his arms around me as well. A sigh escapes my mouth and he chuckles. I haven't actually hugged man, who wasn't my friend, for a long while.

He smells delicious. His body is rock hard, yet soft and it is perfect for hugging. "Thank you" He laughs, letting me know that I once again said that out loud.

I close my eyes and relish the feeling for a moment. Just this innocent hug, is making my hormones go crazy with lust again. "Don't get shot" I tell him as I pull away.

"I will try" Ranger winks at me, before running to his car.


	10. Chapter 10

“Mooom…look what grandma bought me!” Emma shouts, when I enter the house, and holds up a giant Olaf plush.

“Ohhh noo” I sigh under my breath and look at Emma. “Wow he is really big.”

“Cool huh?” She says, before running away again.

“You have no idea what you have just started…again” I tell my mother when I walk into the kitchen. She is just icing the cake for dinner. “I just got her to stop watching that film.”

“She saw it, she wanted it…let me spoil her a little. I barely see her.” My Mom says in a bit of an accusatory tone.

“But my ears can’t take anymore of ‘Let it go’” I whine, making my mother smile.

“Steph…when you were young, you watched Mulan every day for 3 months straight. That was torture” she retorts and puts the cake in the fridge. I quickly snatch the icing bowl from the counter, while her back is turned, and start running my finger through it. “Stephanie!”

“Sorry” I reply with a sheepish grin and she only shakes her head.

“At least use the spatula” she orders. I do as I am told and grab one out of the drawer. For the next hour I sit there happily liking out the bow and talking to my mother.

* * *

"So what did Mark want?” Grandma Mazur asks. Today she is almost dressed decently. She is wearing pair of very tight jeans and a top, which reveals her sagging cleavage. Her feet are stuffed in loafers and her hair was dyed purple just hours ago.

“Nothing much” I try to evade the question, by shrugging my shoulders and cutting Emma’s roast in small pieces.

“If he had nothing to say, why did you had to go to his office?” Grandma pries, obviously not taking the hint of me not wanting to talk about it.

“Ahh well…you know Dickieleftmeahouseandmoney” The words jumble out of my mouth in almost a whisper, hoping no one heard me and will drop the subject.

“Did you just say he left you money and a house?” Grandma questions. Damn her! She must have turned up her hearing aid.

“You have got to be kidding me” Joe exclaims.

“That is great…then you can be closer to us” My mom smiles and my father nods in agreement.

“Steph?” Val looks at me with concern. “What are you going to do?”

“I think I am going to sell it. Our lives aren’t here. Emma has friends and I have established a life. I can’t just uproot everything, just because he left me my dream house and a huge amount of money. Plus this town hates me. We would constantly be subject to hatred.” I inform them.

“You can’t just sell it” My mother exclaims. “Use it as a holiday house, for when you come to visit. I can take care of it while you are gone.”

“Mom…it is too much work, plus all the property taxes and so on…It would be stupid to keep it.” I explain.

“We will help you out” She announces and I instantly shake my head.

“No, Mom…now can we please drop the subject and enjoy dinner?” I ask annoyed. Exactly for that reason I didn’t want my family knowing about it just yet. They just have a way of butting in and taking over. 

* * *

**  
  
**

The next day

“Stephanie Orr?” Someone behind me questions, when I get out of Big Blue a little further down the road from Pino’s entrance. I just don’t have good car parking karma and always end up parking far away from the place I want to be at.

“Yes?” I turn around and see two men standing in front of me.

Both are wearing black leather pants, a blue singlet and vests with patches on them. One of the patches reads ‘The Breed Motorcycle Club’. Their feet are stuffed into black biker boots and black sunglasses cover their eyes. Both are wearing ‘Don’t Fuck with me’ expressions and have tattoos all over their arms. One even has a teardrop tattoo below his left eye.

“Our condolences” The guy with the teardrop tattoo says. “We heard your husband passed away.”

“Thank you” I nod and turn away. My Burg manners tell me I should engage them into a conversation, but these two don’t seem like upstanding citizens and I don’t want to talk to them anymore than I have to.

“There is an outstanding debt, which was never paid.” The man calls after me, making me turn around again.

“Excuse me?” I reply with what I hope is a confused expression on my face, but at the same time alarm bells go off in my head. So the rumours are true!

“Your husband owes my boss $50,000. Plus the interest for money lent, the debt comes to $75,000.” The other man explains. “And we are here to collect it.”

“I don’t have any money” I tell them, wishing I hadn’t left my gun at Lula’s apartment. I am not allowed to carry in New Jersey, neither open nor concealed.

“We have heard differently. Our sources say you just inherited a beautiful house along with a full Swiss Bank account…” Teardrop tattoo man informs me.

“Well you heard wrong and I would appreciate it if you left me alone” I tell them loud enough for other people to hear, before turning around and walking away.

“We will come to collect. One way or another” The other man warns me loudly, making people look at me.

* * *

“Who was that?” My Dad probes when I sit down at the table in Pinos. My father took Emma to work today, before letting her join in on his weekly poker game. He must have seen the whole exchange through the window.

“No one…they were looking for directions” I shrug. If I tell him, he will get worried, then he will call Joe and I really don’t want them to get involved. If they show up again, I will figure something out. “So princess, what are we going to eat?” I ask my daughter and put a smile on my face.

* * *

One day later

“Mrs Orr” The two men are back! 

“Leave me alone” I say irritated.

“My Boss really wants his money back, so we will pursue you until we get it” Teardrop Tattoo man states.

“I don’t know what debt you are talking about.” I exclaim and slide my hand into my bag. After yesterday’s encounter with them, I decided I felt safer with my gun in my hand bag, screw the licensing laws.

“Mom, who are they?” Emma looks up at me, before eyeing the two man suspiciously.

“No one.” I assure her.

“Why does he have a tear under his eye?” my daughter probes, but ignore her question and keep an eye on the men in front of us.

“If you don’t pay, we will force you to.” Teardrop tattoo man says and his eyes linger on Emma. My blood turns to ice and my heart skips multiple beats. “Keep that in mind.” He adds and turns around.

“They looked mean” Emma observes, when I pick her up and almost run towards the entrance of the Mall. The gun in my bag may give me a feeling of safety, but with Emma so close by, I can’t just whip it out and start shooting. Emma could get hurt or worse end up dead.

“They are very mean, princess” I inform her and can’t shake the dread in my stomach. “Just don’t mention anything to grandpa or anyone else for that matter.”

“Why?” She asks.

“Because they get worried and I don’t want them to. This needs be our secret.” I tell her.

“Ok…Ohh look ice-cream…can I have one?” She looks at the hole-in-the-wall-store excitingly, disregarding the subject of the two men. 


	11. Chapter 11

_Later that night_

"Girl, what are you going to do?" Lula questions and downs the last bit of her Margarita. I just told her what happened yesterday and earlier today. We are currently sitting in her/my apartment, having a good old girl talk. "Do you even know that they are speaking the truth?"

"I heard rumours" I nod and fill our glasses again. "Dickie never confirmed it and I don't have any evidence."

"So what are you going to do about the two goons?" Lula repeats.

"I don't know…it's not like there is an invoice for this or anything, so I have no evidence that there is a debt. Plus the way they looked at Emma…I don't want her to get hurt by this." I tell her and shudder as the picture of the goon looking at Emma pops into my mind.

"You should ask Ranger…he will help" she wiggles her eyebrows suggestively, making me laugh. I told her about our walk through the park and what happened at the house. She squealed like a schoolgirl, told me to ride that horse hard and good and admitted if she wasn't so in love with Tank, she would be right on Ranger.

"Stop it" I slap her arm lightly when feel myself blush. "He is hot…but I can't go there. I don't live here."

"Girl, please…that guy has more money than he knows what to do with. Give him a chance and he will be jetting to see you every weekend." Lula says.

"Just because I had butterflies going off in my stomach when he hugged me, doesn't mean that this is going...well...anywhere…" I inform her and part of me is disappointed. It is not like I haven't slept with anyone since Dickie, but it was only ever sex, which was fine at the time. However, now I would really like someone to spend lazy afternoons on the couch with, who I can vent to after a stressful day at work and who also doesn't mind that I have a daughter.

"Someone like Ranger doesn't want to be an instant father" Especially after what he told me about his daughter in the park "Men like that don't tend to do relationships...believe me I have met plenty like that."

"Well I still think you should ask him for help, white girl." Lula insists. "He has the manpower and resources to clear this up for you."

* * *

_The next day_

"So we meet again" the man with the teardrop tattoo says with a sleazy smile on his lips, as he comes right up to me and into my personal space, making me drop my groceries. I had to park around the Building since the carpark of the apartment block is full. I know that there are cameras out here, but I doubt that Rangemen will get here in time, if they try anything funny.

Thankfully I dropped Emma off at my parents just half an hour prior.

"What do you want?" I question through clenched teeth. "I don't have your money...I don't know of any outstanding debt and unless you have an invoice, I am not going to pay you a dime."

"Maybe we just need to pay that daughter of yours a visit" The man comes even closer, while his friend keeps a look out. His breaths smells like alcohol and cigarettes. "She is a pretty little thing. Would be a shame if anything were to happen to her" He adds and brushes a finger along my cheek, before he pulls away.

"Leave her alone" I growl.

"Then get us the money" tattoo man says.

"I don't have it here. I need more time" I tell them, making the decision just to give them the money and be done with it. I don't want them to hurt Emma or anyone else from my family.

"You have 24 hours" the man announces and both of them walk back to their car, leaving me wondering how I am going to get the money from switzerland within the next 24 hours.

* * *

_Later that night_

"Hey mom" I kiss my mother on her cheek and let her and my father, who is carrying a sleeping Emma, pass, before closing the door.

"Is everything ok?" she asks in passing. "You look worried...If it is about the house. I get it. It would have just been nice to have you two closer to home."

"That is not it mom." I shake my head again. "I know, it would be nice to be closer, but like I said I can't put Emma through this."

I don't want her to know the real reason I look like shit. I have been trying to figure out a way to get the money from Switzerland to the US. The only solution I see is to pay them in installments.

"Whatever you decide Pumpkin" My father says, kisses me on the cheek and then nods towards Emma in his arm.

"Bedroom is through there" I point towards the door at the other end of the room, before walking over to the couch and sitting down.

"Your father took her to the park and the playground. Exhausted her so much that she fell asleep in the car." Mom smiles.

"Where is grandma?" I probe and turn of the TV.

"Senior Centre has a party. I don't expect her back till late. You know how she is." Mom rolls her eyes.

* * *

"Stephanie" my mother shakes me awake.

"Mhhh?" I pry my eyes open to look at her. "What time is it?"

"Just a few minutes after midnight...You fell asleep a couple of hours ago." My mother informs me. "We are going to go now. I will talk to you tomorrow ok?"

"Thank's mom" I nod.

"Good night" She calls out before closing the apartment door.

"G'night" I mumble and give her the finger wave. I didn't intend to fall asleep, but I haven't slept well since the goons started showing up and it seems like my body decided to catch up on it.

I rub my eyes, sit up straight and wipe some drool from my chin. My mother turned of the TV and all the lights, except for a small light on the wall. With sigh I get up, walk into the kitchen to grab a bottle of water, before making my way into the bedroom.

"Bloody hell it's freezing in here" I mutter under my breath, when I enter the bedroom, and rub up and down my arms with my hands. The window was left open, making the room more like the temperature of a refrigerator instead of the cosy 25 degrees like the living room. My father should have known better than to leave this open. I hope Emma didn't catch a cold, especially since the bed is right below the window.

I lean over to close the window, before lowering myself onto the bed to give Emma a good night kiss on the head, like I always do. But as I try to feel for her body, I can't find it. I pat the whole bed, but nothing.

"Emma?" I call out in a whisper, but don't receive an answer. I switch on the light, so I can look below the bed, but again no Emma.

Thinking she may have gone to the bathroom and fallen asleep there, like she did a few weeks back at home, I walk into the bathroom, but Emma is not there either. Panic rises within me, I pull open the window, thinking she may have snug onto the fire escape to look at the stars, but nothing either.

Then my eyes fall on a note on the bedside table. 'For insurance' it reads in very bad handwriting.

I grab my phone and dial the first number in my log. "Emma...she is gone!"


	12. Chapter 12

"Steph!" Ranger pounds on the door and shouts "Open up!"

I stop pacing long enough to open the door only to start pacing again. "This is all my fault" I mutter. "Had I only listened to their warnings this wouldn't have happened...but I thought I could do it alone… I still had time...God I am so stupid. I should have known they would pull something like this." I stop to look at Ranger only to realize that he isn't alone. Behind him are Lester and multiple of his men, who I recognise from that time at Pino's.

"Steph you already know Lester. This is my second in command Tank," Ranger introduces and points to the man who literally looks like a human Tank. Lula had shown me a few pictures of him and I had seen him before that time in Pino's, but he is still intimidating. "This is Cal" the one who has a skull tattooed on his forehead, who accompanied Lester my first night here. "Bobby" he points at the tall, muscular black man with dreadlocks, "And Hector" he finishes with the smallest of the five who has a teardrop tattoo under his eye. Each man is clad in black clothes from head to toe with a Glock attached to their hips or legs.

"I am sorry that he dragged you out of bed at this hour" I shoot them an apologetic look.

"We came right from a stakeout beautiful…" Les explains their get up and hugs me. "We will find her." He assures me.

"Oh noo I dragged you away from work… I am so sorry...I just didn't know who else I could call, besides the Police" I rush to explain.

"Don't worry about it. We got someone else to cover for us" He assures me and with one last squeeze lets me go.

"Did you call the police?" Ranger probes and I look at him. He has a neutral expression on his face, but in his eyes I can see rage.

I pull away and shake my head. "No...this is...I don't want Emma to get hurt." I tell him, my eyes flood with tears.

"So tell me what happened" Ranger instructs. I lead them all into the bedroom.

"These two men in motorcycle vests approached me a few days ago demanding money. They said Dickie owed them 300 000 dollars." I start only to be interrupted by Ranger.

"Tell me exactly what their vests looked like" he demands. "Do you remember any names?"

I shake my head. "I didn't pay attention to their names. They wore black leather vests with lots of patches on them. One of the patches read 'The Breed Motorcycle Club'. One of them had a test drop tattoo under his eye" I tell him and carefully look at Hector. "What?" I ask when Ranger shoots Cal a pointed look.

"Get onto it." Ranger instructs him and then turns back to me. I want to ask more questions, but before I can do so, he adds "She will be fine, I promise."

"I should have done something earlier." I sigh and new tears are threatening to fall. I feel so stupid, that I thought I could take this on by myself. "This is all my fault." I bury my head in my hands and let the tears drop. Guilt and fear seeping into my bones. I can't lose her.

"I am not going to sugar coat it, Babe" Ranger says quietly and gently wraps his hands around my wrists and pulls my hands away from my face, leaving me no choice but to look at him. "Yes, you should have come to me earlier, should have spoken up, but I don't blame you that you didn't. They were just rumors to you up that point. I promise you, we will get Emma back."

"How?" I take my hands back and wipe the tears away from under my eyes. I can see on his face that he contemplates how much he should tell me, so I add "Please, tell me how you going to get my daughter back."

With a sigh Ranger says "Cal used to belong to the same Club. I can't tell you anymore, as it is his story to tell, but he knows the President and is on his way to talk to him as we speak. We will make a deal." He assures me. "Can you tell me the rest of the story please?"

So I do as asked. Giving him every detail I remember.

"Now, do you have something to eat? We haven't had anything yet." He adds with a sheepish smile once I fall silent.

I don't believe for a second that they haven't had anything to eat, but I appreciate him wanting to distract me. "I think I can whip up some sandwiches. There is still roast meat left from the wake, which should still be good."

* * *

**Ranger's POV**

I watch Steph leaves with Bobby in tow and her head downcast. Seeing her cry was agony. All I wanted was to pull her in my lap and make it go away. Earlier when Lester hugged her, I was ready to break his neck, but I have no right to say anything. We are nothing to each other, apart from being acquaintances maybe friends. Despite that my life is not suited for anything else. But I swear on my life, if Emma is missing just one hair on her head, they will never be seen again

I turn to the rest of them with a grim look on my face. "How the fuck did they find out so quickly that Orr left her money and a house?"

"$300 000 question, cuz" Lester retorts and drops down onto the bed next to me, rubbing his hand over his mohawk. He only does that when he is frustrated.

"The only people who knew about that, including myself, are her parents and the law firm." From the moment she told me what they said, I got the feeling that someone talked. Question is just who. "She was off the face of the earth for five years and I don't think the Club kept looking for her. If they really had a hard on for the money, they would have gone after her and her family the moment Orr was thrown into prison."

"Unless someone was hoping to collect after he got out?" Tank questions, but I instantly shake my head.

"Nah, they wouldn't have waited that long. There is something we are missing." I looks round at each of my men before stopping on Hector. In Spanish I order "Get all of the shit we had on Orr and bring it here. I want to look over it again." With a nod, Hec disappears leaving Tank, Lester and me alone.

"They are going to fucking pay. I can't believe Quick would endanger a child. He has grandkids Emma's age for Christ sake." I shake my head.

"Didn't think he was capable of that. You see Cal's face?" Tank asks. "Shouldn't have let him go alone. Quick won't talk to him."

"i was hoping Cal could appeal to his grandfather side a bit better than I can." In that moment my phone rings and I pick it up without looking at the caller ID. "He wants to meet." Cal says before I can even get a word out. Of course he does.

"Where?" I question and stand, motioning for Lester to hand me the keys to the SUV.

"Club house" Cal replies and hangs up. He doesn't need my words to know I will be there as soon as possible.

"Not a word!" I shoot Tank a glare who just grins smugly. I won't hear the end of that 'I told you so' for a while.

"Food is ready" Steph calls from the kitchen that same moment, so we all file out of the bedroom.

"I gotta go. Lester, Tank and Bobby will stay here in case they call." I instruct while looking at Steph. Her eyes grow wide and I can see the questions burning on the tip of her tounge. "I will call with an update the minute I have one." I tell her in a tone that doesn't leave room for questions.

Steph just nods, wraps her arms around me and squeezes tight. "Thank you" she whispers before letting go.

* * *

10 minutes later, I pull up in front of the Club house. It is a highly fenced of two storey compound on the outskirts of Trenton. The only cars that get in are from members of the Club, so I have to leave the Rangemen issued SUV parked on the curb. A prospect is standing guard on the outside of a heavy iron gate and checks my ID, before letting me pass through.

Once I am a meter inside, the gate close with a loud clank behind me and I am being greeted by another prospect and Cal, who has cuts on his hands. The prospect feels me up for weapons, which I left in the car, knowing I would have to leave them at the front door. This is not my first time here and won't be the last.

"You can go in" the prospect nods at Cal before resuming his position just behind the gate.

I look at Cal's knuckles with a pointed look. "He refused to talk to me, even after I said that a little girl was missing. So I lost it." Cal sighs and shrugs. His face neutral, but his eyes convey how much that hurts him. His own father doesn't want to pass on the information because he doesn't trust him. The reason: Cal left because he wanted a better life.

"Fuck let's hope he doesn't hold that against me" I mutter, before opening up the front door.

"Ranger, a pleasure as always" Quick, Cal's old man, shouts across the Bar, making everyone in the room fall silent. As far as Biker Club houses go, this one is actually clean and decently decorated, thanks to Quick's wife, who is an interior designer. The walls are painted a dark blue with lots of Bike paraphilia hanging on them, the ceiling is painted black with accented lighting and the ground is stained concrete. There is a pool table and dart boards to the left and booth's lined with leather and dark wooden tables to the right. The bar is the coolest thing in the entire room, with five old Harley's made into seats. The typical booze shelf is behind it, with beer on tap on the front.

As much of an asshole Quick can be, he keeps this place clean and you could usually eat from the floor. He is proud of this place and I have seen him break someone's nose after they didn't clean up a spill on the leather couch next to the pool table

But today there is a lot of shattered glass on the ground, which another prospect is cleaning up and two other members are holding ice packs to their faces.

"Quick" I nod in reply.

"Let's have a drink." Quick motions for the prospect behind the bar to get onto it, but I shake my head.

"No time. Got a girl missing" I reply. "But you already know that."

Quick looks at me for a few seconds, obviously contemplating his next move. "Let's talk someplace more quiet."

The three of us file into his office in the back, with Quick taking a seat in the black antique looking, throne like wooden chair behind the desk. He motions for us to sit too. "We won't be here long enough." I shake my head.

"Suit yourself." He shrugs. "What can I do for you?"

I hear Cal groan, but with one look from me, he shuts up. There is no love lost between the two, but I can't have Cal start an argument with is old man, not until I have everything I need. "Two of your men took Emma Orr last night." I say watching the man behind the desk carefully. "She is Stephanie and Richard Orr's daughter and I want her to be brought back to her mother as soon as possible and in one piece."

"And what has that got to do with me?" Quick questions, leaning back in his chair.

I am sure Cal has already explained this to him, but if it gets me what I need, is I'll just repeat it. "Orr owed you a good sum of money, you sent two of your men to get it back once you heard that his wife was back in town and had just inherited some money. Obviously she didn't take neither your threats nor the money issue seriously, so you instructed for the girl to be taken as leverage." I reply, casually leaning my arms on the chair in front of me.

"The problem is, Orr doesn't owe me or the Club money." Quick answers and leans forward in his chair, to rest his arms on the big wooden desk. I don't take the bait and wait him out. I am lucky that Quick respects me, what I do and does not want to make an enemy out of me, so he will divulge more than he would with anyone else, even his own son. "Orr paid us back before the Feds came. He settled all outstanding debts with the underbelly of this city. Surprised the heck out of me, out of all of us, and made me respect him. He told us his Mrs. was preggers and he was about to go away for the bribery and buying the election. Orr wanted to make sure no one came after her when he was inside."

Well hell, if that doesn't make me respect him too. "So how come your men showed up and asked for 300 large ones?"

"300 large?" Quick laughs. "Where did you get that amount from?"

"Your men told Stephanie that that is the amount." Cal answers in a growl and I only shoot him another look to silence him.

"She must have misheard, because Mark Johnson owes us $150 000, with interest that is 200 large."

"The lawyer?" I ask surprised. "Then why are you collecting from Stephanie not him and what the fuck did he need that scratch for? The man makes good money at his firm."

"He has got a nasty gambling habit. Johnson lost big in a poker game the Asian put on a few months back, but he already owed them a lot of money and they came after him. So he came to me, asking to help pay of some of that debt in order to get the Asians of his back for a while. He said that Orr had money in a Swiss bank account and because he would die soon, that money would be freed up for the easy taking." Quick explains.

"He knew it wouldn't be bequeathed to him and hoped Steph would just pay the money, because there had been rumors going around for a long while that Orr owed money to the wrong people." That lawyer is going six feet under as soon as I can get my hands on him.

"Exactly" Quick nods.

"And because she didn't pay up quick enough you took the girl?" I ask with a raised eyebrow.

"I never told them to take the girl. Jesus, I may straddle the line of the law" Cal just snorts at that, which earns him a glare from his old man "But I am not a monster. I handed this over to my enforcer and his second in charge. Told them just to get the money."

"My guess is Brick and Tiny saw a way to make a quick buck to support their coke addiction and when she didn't pay immediately they took Emma" Cal finishes and shakes his head. "Jesus Christ Dad, I told you a million times they are bad news and they would take you down with whatever shit they were into, but you had to let them in."

I shoot Cal a glare for him to calm down and turn back to Quick. "Can you get me their phone numbers? I will track them and get Emma back."

"You find them, bring them to me. They just stepped over the line." Quick takes out his phone and hands it to me.

"Got you!"


	13. Chapter 13

"Text Manny and Hal" I instruct Cal as soon as we step out of the office and jog out of the front door. I fish my phone out of my pocket and press speed dial four. In Spanish I ask "You got their location?"

"Yes, address is down in Hamilton Township. I will send it to your GPS." Hec answers without missing a beat. I am glad he chose to come to work for me, because there is no one is better than him.

"I need you to do a deep dive on Orr and Johnson." I order, before I add. "Hand me over to Tank."

There is some whispering, before Tank gets on the line. "It was the fucking lawyer. He has a gambling habit. Don't tell her anything. Cal and I are on the way to the location where we think they are holding Emma. Manny and Hal are meeting us there."

"Got you" is his only reply before he hangs up.

* * *

15 minutes later, I pull up down the road from the address Hec sent me, with Cal pulling up behind me. From here we have a good view of the house, but wouldn't be spotted right away. This side of the street is all middle class houses with reliable Mini-vans and Work Trucks, whereas the other side of the road is low income housing with more than one Run down building. Same street, two very different lives.

Manny and Hal are already waiting in one of our beat up surveillance cars on the next street over, from where they have a nice view of the backyard. The front does not look appealing and I bet the back doesn't look much better. The windows are boarded up with wood, the front yard unkempt and the roof looks like it is about to collabs.

When Cal gets into the passenger seat, I hand him a comm unit, before I address all of them. "Any sign?"

"House has been quiet. No one in or out. Manny ran the perimeter. No security, no indication anyone is inside." Hal answers.

"Let's see for ourselves." I instruct, get out of the car and walk to the trunk, where we keep our Kevlar vests and larger guns. Generally we don't drive big guns around with us, but we had this one pre-stocked from the job we were on before Steph called. "Don't kill them, we gotta deliver them to Quick." I receive three 'got you's' for a reply, before we all suit up, with vests and SMG's.

We keep quiet as we approach our respective doors. "No forced entry. Go in quietly." I whisper into the mic.

"It's unlocked at that back" Manny says and I try the front door, also unlocked.

"Here too." I state and push the door open. "Execute!" In silence we move through the house clear room for room with wallpaper hanging of the walls, holes in the ground and creaky floorboards. They are either not here, methed up or deep asleep.

Hal makes the sign for all clear when we meet them in the middle of the house. Which only leaves the cellar and the second storey. I motion for them to go downstairs, while Cal and I take the upper floor. Everyone nods in acknowledgement, before separating once again.

The stairs are creaky as hell and I half expect the two bikers to meet us at the top of the stairs, but to my disappointment there is no one waiting. "Basement is clear" Hal states. "We coming to meet you."

Cal and I wait until Manny and Hal are behind us before splitting off towards both ends of the hallway. The first door I enter used to be a bedroom. Again wallpaper is peeling of the walls, there is a broken metal frame under the window and a dresser with a broken mirror.

Next door is another bedroom, still no sign of Emma or the bikers.

"Fuck me, they are fast asleep. And here I was hoping for a fight" Hal mutters.

"Cuff them" I instruct, before moving on to the last door. I turn the key which was left in the poor excuse for a lock and push the door open. Relief floods through me. Emma is staring right at me from her seat in the bathtub, which seems to have been made into a makeshift bed with a blanket and a pillow. At least they thought of making her comfortable.

I hand Cal my SMG and walk through the door. It is one of these old bathrooms with lime green tiles, a mirror over the sink and a shower bath. The toilet is cramped on the corner and has also seen better days. "Hey Emma, do you remember me?" I ask softly and approach carefully. "I am a friend of your mom's and you met my funny cousin Lester."

She continues to just stare at me with wide eyes. I take another few steps closer and then sit down in front of the tub. She looks okay, her clothes are still on and not a hair is out of place, but you never know. "Do you like chocolate?" Having had the forethought, Cal brought chocolate and Haribos.

"Mom says I am not allowed to talk to strangers. Or take anything they offer" Emma responds. Her voice is strong and her eyes defiant, but he body is shaking like crazy. She wants to be stronger than she is and I assume she got that from her mother.

"Mhh you are right. I should have thought of that. So how about we dial your mom and ask her?" I question and pull out my phone from the breast pocket of my vest. A shout rings through the walls from the room down the hall in that same moment "What the fuck?" followed by a crash. Emma shrinks back and slides further down into the tub, wrapping her arms around her legs.

Without me having to say so, Cal hands me my gun, closes the bathroom door and I can hear him join the others by his muffled footsteps. There is some more shouting, a shot, a scream of pain and then silence. "Just a flesh wound Boss" Manny informs me through via the Comms.

"Motherfucker" Cal curses and followed by another scream. He must have poked the wound in retaliation.

I smile at Emma "They won't hurt you anymore. Now let's call your mom." I bring up Steph's phone number on WhatsApp and hit video call. Seconds later her face comes into view. Before she can say anything, I tell her "There is someone here who would like to talk to you."

She gasps and tears starts streaming down her face. "Hold on" She says when I am about to turn the phone around. I watch her take a few wobbly deep breaths in and out, before she seems visibly be back in one piece, but I know she is a mess on the inside. With a nod from her, I hand the phone over to Emma, who hesitates for a second, but then takes it from me.

"Hey superstar, how are you?" I can hear Steph ask around a frog in her throat.

"I am okay. But Mom this house is yuk. I saw a cockroach." Emma shudders, making me smile and her mother laugh.

I stand and Emma's eyes shoot me a frightened look. "Don't worry, I am not going anywhere. I am just going to be outside that door." I explain. She only nods, before she averts her eyes back to the screen.

I open the door, step into the hallway and leave it open so she can see me. Cal, Hal and Manny are standing outside the room on the other end of the hallway, watching the two idiots inside the room.

From here it looks like Manny got punched in the face. It is already swollen. I whistle and all three turn their heads. Cal is the one who joins me to give me the report, while the other two stand guard. "Manny copped a biker boot to the face really hard. He needs to get checked out."

Since we have open Comms we can hear Manny mutter "No chance. I am fine. Just a bruise." And we start laughing.

"Got no choice Manny" I tell him when we finally calmed down. "You know the drill." I take care of my employees. But all of them are hard men who rather die than to have to admit on needing to see the doctor. Since I am one of those people, Bobby made me write into the employee handbook, that anyone who got hit, fell or was otherwise injured would have to be cleared by the company medic.

"How is she doing?" Cal asks looking sideways into the bathroom, where Emma is laughing at something Steph said.

"Fine, bit skittish. Have to ask Bobby if he knows a good female doctor to check her out. Don't want her to be intimidated."

"I will give him a call" Cal says. "I wish we didn't have to hand them over."

"I am hoping your father will let me have first crack" I admit. "I am gonna get Emma out here first. You guys wait until I am gone and the take them to Rangemen. I will call Quick when I dropped Emma off to see where he wants them."

Cal only nods, before stepping away and calling Bobby. I walk back into the room and kneel down in front of the tub, where Emma has gone quiet. "What are you doing?" I ask with an amused smile, when I see her sheepish look.

"Emma Maria Orr... are you looking through his phone?" Comes through the loud speaker from Steph. I can hear Tank and Lester laugh in the background and one look at Emma, I know exactly that that is what she is doing. Lucky anything sensitive is locked away behind a password.

"No" she replies in a tone, which only kids have, that tells you that they are lying. She seems more at ease after talking to her mom.

"Okay, I believe you" I wink at her and she blushes. "So what do you say we get out of here and get pancakes on our way home?"

Emma nods at me with a grin and tries to stand up in a hurry, but slips on the blanket in the tub. I quickly reach out and steady her. "Want to ride piggyback?" I receive an enthusiastic nod in reply. "Say 'see ya' to your mom."

"Bye mom" and before Steph can even say anything back Emma hangs up on her. Obviously piggyback rides and pancakes have priority over manners.

When she hands me the phone, I ask "You are something else huh?" and pocket my phone.

"Mom says I am cheeky." She wrinkles her nose as if she doesn't agree with that statement. "Too smart for my own good."

"MH I will withhold my judgement until I know you better" I grin down at her and suddenly there is something tugging at my heart. I never got to do this with my daughter. Just joking around smiling. Rachel has poisoned her against me and until she is old enough to move away from under Rachel's thumb, I don't think I will ever get to tell her the truth about me and her mom.

I shake the feeling off, turn around and let Emma wrap her legs and arms around me from behind. "Alright little monkey let's go."

"But I thought it is a piggyback ride, wouldn't that make me a pig?" Emma muses and I grin. Yeah, too smart for her own good.


	14. Chapter 14

**Steph's POV**

When Emma hangs up on me, I slide down the wall I have been holding onto while talking to her and bury my head between my legs. Relief and fear of what they may have done to her washes through me all at once. I have done this and I will never forgive myself for it.

"Steph?" Bobby questions. I run my hands over my face, before taking a deep breath and looking at him, while he takes a seat on the ground in front of me. "We need to talk about Emma." I don't like the look on his face and I instantly get scared again.

"What did they do to her?" I whisper while new tears pool in my eyes. She was a little withdrawn when talking to me at first, but she seemed perfectly fine a few minutes into the call. But then again, she could just be pushing it deep down.

"I don't know. Cal called me and asked me to look into female Doctors." He explains. "He said there isn't a hair out of place, but we do not know what they otherwise did to her." Bobby doesn't need to spell it out for my head to fill with a million scenarios. "I could do it. I am a doctor with a minor in psychology, but I think Emma might be more comfortable with a female... given the situation."

I just nod "Whatever you think it's best. Whatever it takes or costs, I just want to make sure she is okay."

"I will try to talk to her when she gets here, to see if she needs any immediate medical attention, okay?" I only nod. I am not capable of more than that. "You made a mistake Steph, don't be too hard on yourself."

"Mhh" I reply. "But that mistake nearly cost me my daughter."

"You are a good mother from what I can tell. There are worse ones out there, believe me." Something on Bobby's face tells me that he is speaking from personal experience. "You gotta forgive yourself."

"That might take a while."

"And that is okay too." Bobby says and stands. "They should be here any minute with pancakes, let's set the table." He holds out his hand and only after a moment of hesitation I take it.

* * *

Ten minutes later, Ranger walks through the door with Emma on his back and two huge take out bags in his hand. I rush over to take either of his hand, but he only shakes his head and walks into the kitchen, where he places the bags on the counter and plops Emma right next to it.

"Mom, he bought everything on the menu." Emma smiles at Ranger as if he is her hero. I step forward while Bobby takes the food and hug my daughter really tight to me. "Mom….I am hungry." She whines, making me laugh. Of course she is. After all she has my metabolism and can eat whatever she wants.

"Alright my little foodmonster, let's get you fed." I withdraw from her and help her down. Bobby holds a chair out for her and then continues to help her stack her plate high with pancakes and pours plenty of maple syrup on top of it. She isn't going to be able to sleep from the sugar high tonight.

Just then Lester exclaims "Finally! Food!" and jumps up from the couch, where he has been laying, playing on his phone. On his way into the kitchen he slaps Hector, who has been fixed to his laptop ever since he got back, on the back of his head Gibbs style. Hector jerks his head up, shoots Lester a glare and curses in spanish. Lester replies in the same language, before motioning to the kitchen, while Tank just shakes his head and mumbles something about kids. Their whole interaction makes me smile.

"You must be hungry too" Ranger says in a low tone so close, that I can feel his breath on my ear. Which in turn makes the hairs on my arms stand up, my heart miss a beat and parts further south of my belly button tingle. As if knowing the effect he has on me, he steps in front of me with a smile on his lips. "Come on, before Lester eats it all."

"Hey pendejo, I heard that" The man in question shoots back, obviously not wanting to swear in front of Emma.

"What does pen...pentecho mean?" Emma looks at Lester with curiosity.

"It is Pen-de-jo" Ranger explains and takes a seat opposite of her, while shooting a glare at his friend. "And it means 'I love you'" His answer has Hector snort and Tank, who has just taken a sip of his coffee, cough so much that Bobby has to slap him on the back.

"No" Emma shakes her head and I suppress a grin, while stacking my own plate high with pancakes. I had to settle for a seat next to Ranger and Hector, since Bobby and Lester have taken up the space right next to my daughter. "That means I love you. So what does Pendejo mean?" This time she nails the word. My daughter is way too smart for her five years of age. She has been watching Mexican cartoons on youtube, so she knows a little bit of the language.

Everyone laughs at the face Ranger makes, before Bobby says "It means stupid. But Lester meant it as a term of endearment."

"How can that be a term of endearment?" Emma probes, while digging into her pancakes.

"Well it all depends on the situation, body language and the tone it is said in." Bobby explains further.

"So I could call you an asshole…."

"EMMA" I exclaim in horror. "We talked about this." I shoot her my jersey glare.

"I was just trying to give an example." Emma pouts and I harden my glare. "Okay, I am sorry...but if I call you a pendejo…" She obviously thought she could get away with it, if it is in another language, but when I harden my face even more, which promises consequences later, she amends "...when I call you the A-word and use it in a nice tone it could be a term of endearment?"

"Yes, but we don't use that word" I tell Emma, not leaving it up to the men to correct her. I can tell that all of them are barely keeping their smiles in check. In fact, Lester is looking everywhere but us and Tank is pushing a giant bite of pancake in his mouth to hide his grin. From the corner of my eye, I can see Ranger watching me with laughter in his eyes, so all I can do is look down onto my food and continue eating.

A little while later, I lean back completely sated from the food and watch the interactions around me. It has been a while since I had so many people, who I am not related, share a meal with me. In Mount Baker I don't have many friends. I live on the mountain and only make it into town for work. For the most part I only see tourists in the shop and the regular hunters are not very sociable. So that leaves Lucas and Rene as my only close friends. It sucks that they had to leave right after the funeral.

All men around this table, including Bobby and Ranger, may look like hard men, but if you watch them interact with each other, you can tell there is nothing but love between them. Even Hector, who with his stern face and tear drop tattoo might keep people at bay. But if you took the time and looked beyond that, you would see that he is a good looking man who seems to, when he lets down his guard around these guys, have nothing but mischief in his eyes. I think he understands english just fine, judging by how his cheek muscles twitched earlier.

I doubt they just show anyone this side of themselves and I feel honored that they decided to let their guard down around me and Emma, despite not knowing us. "What are you smiling about?" Ranger asks low enough just for me to hear it, while everyone else is debating whether Mulan or Elsa is the best Disney princess.

"I like this" I say and then it hits me why we are all here and the smile slips from my face. How could I forget for just a moment what happened merely a few hours ago.

"Come on, I have to talk to you." Ranger stands and holds out his hand for me to take. I slip my hand in his and turn to Emma "I will just be in the other room, shout if you need anything."

I only get a nod, before Emma retorts to Tank "But Mulan can kick ass. She leaves, joins the military and learns to fight. Now tell me what Elsa can do apart from make ice?" Emma crosses her arms in defiance, which has me smiling and silently wishing the guys luck with that one. She has had the same argument with Rene and Lucas multiple times.

Ranger chuckles and mumbles "That one is trouble", while pulling me a out of the kitchen. Once in the bedroom, he closes the door behind me and motions for me to sit down. I get comfortable, mentally preparing for what he is about to tell me.

"I will tell you as much as I can, in order not to make you complicit." Ranger starts and takes a seat too. "Turns out your late husband did not owe the Bikers anything. He knew the feds were coming for him in and in order to protect you he paid off all of his debts with the underbelly of the city."

"That is not what I thought you were going to say." I admit. "But why did they come for Emma?"

"Mark Johnson has a gambling problem and put you up as collateral or to be specific the money you have inherited." When I look at him confused, he explains "He lost a lot of money to some very bad people in this city. In order to get them off his back, he went to the Club asking for money. Johnson told them your husband was dying soon. He knew of the money and that it would be left to you. Since you heard the rumors of money owed, he assumed you would just pay it without questioning it."

"Holy crap" I have no other words. "What the actual fuck?"

"Quick, The Breeds President, did not instruct them to take your daughter. The two men who approached you have a nasty drug problem and thought they could make a quick buck. They asked for more money than what the Club was actually owed."

"You got them right?" I ask, afraid they will come after us.

"Yes" Ranger nods.

"I am surprised the cops haven't come to take my statement." I tell him. "I mean isn't that procedure?"

He just shrugs, telling me that those two will not get to see the inside of a prison cell and I am not sure how I feel about that. "They will not bother you again" I stare at him for the longest time, before something clicks in my head and I just nod. I am okay with kidnapped my daughter and did god knows what. They can rot in hell.

"What about Mark?" It makes me sick to think how nice he was, how caring he seemed. A thought enters my mind and I ask "Do you think he had Dickie killed?"

* * *

**Ranger's POV**

That is one thing I haven't thought about, but she has a point. "It is a possibility and it would be something we could look into, but that would mean exhuming the body. It also would mean that Johnson paid of a lot of people to pull this off. It would be corruption from the Warden to the guards and the medical staff." A lot of money would have gone out of this poket to make that happen, how he would have had that I do not know. It is a lot of unknowns, which I cannot wait to dig into.

"I know you already have done more than enough, but if you can tell me how we can get that bastard to pay, that would be great." Steph says with a hardness to her voice that's a little scary, even to me.

"I have to go now, but if you come by Rangemen tomorrow morning, we can talk about all of that." I tell her and stand "I would come here, but you never know who is listening...I will leave a couple of my guys here to keep an eye on you. Just in case. They can take you and Emma to Rangemen tomorrow morning for breakfast."

She is about decline that, but I just level her with a look that conveys that I will not take 'no' for an answer. In return Steph just sighs, making me smile. I won. "Just no barks or twigs."

"Why would you think I would serve that for breakfast?" I raise an eyebrow at her with an amused grin on my face. This ought to be good.

"Well you…." She gestures up and down my body and blushes. "You are well...someone only looks like that if they are on a constant diet."

"Mhh are you sure?" I ask, dropping my tone a few octaves, which makes her blush even more. "I have seen you eat like a baby dinosaur and you definitely do not look like it." I run my eyes from her sock clad feet, up her jean covered legs, along her torso, which is clad into a tight tank top, to her beautiful face with those kissable lips. She is sexy as hell, even in her dishevelled state.

Her blush deepens, but manages to quip back "Has no one ever told you that it is rude to comment on a woman's eating habits?"

I cannot help but let out a laugh. "I will see you for breakfast" I say with a wink and leave the room, before I sit back down and talk to her all morning.


	15. Chapter 15

**Ranger's POV**

I swipe my key card on the elevator and press sublevel two. Only a select few of my employees have access to this part of the building and three of them are currently with me.

Before we left, Bobby asked Emma questions to see where her head is at or if she is hurt anywhere, with Steph by her side. He concluded that she is physically fine, but it would be worth talking to a doctor about what happened. To which Emma protested and said she doesn't want to talk to anyone, but Bobby. So he and Emma gonna sit down after breakfast tomorrow.

By the time we left Hec had already uncovered plenty to start sinking Johnson's ship, but he thinks there is more and since Zip is our numbers guy, the two of the will dig it all up by the end of today, I am sure of that.

Just when the elevator doors open, I motion for the guys to go into the room right next to the lift on the left.

The room, also affectionately called 'the bunker', is the size of our 20 bay garage two levels above us and holds our most sensitive documents and equipment, as well as a room with a conference table and another room with bunk beds. The bunker is soundproof, surveillance proof and just in general off the grid. It has its own generator as well as multiple batteries, which store the power the solar panels on the roof generate. It can also withhold great firepower and bombs. The guys called me paranoid when we build it, but this room has come in handy already, a time or two. I close the door behind us and say "Lets have it."

"Why are you doing this for her?" Tank questions right off the bat. "You have taken Hector of his current work, gave last night's high profile surveillance job to rookies and now have two Rangemen sitting on her house..."

"It is also a lot of money, to just get laid." Les interjects. "She is a good woman, but she is also a single mom and comes with a tonne of baggage. This is no easy lay, cuz. If you are just after one of your flings, you need to take a step back."

"Not that it is any of your business, I like her." I retort with a shrug. "...something draws me to Steph and Emma. She is different and while I do not know where this could go, it would definitely not be a fling. You know me better than that." I shoot Les a glare, before levelling Tank with the same. Knowing where he was going to go with his sentence I add "Steph is not her husband and besides you should know better than to judge anyone. She is the first 'client' who did not shrink away from Cal and his skull tattoo or Hector and his teardrop. Steph had only met me a few times, but trusted me enough to get Emma back."

"She just didn't want to involve the police" Tank points out.

"Would you have?" I retort. "Apart from Morelli, the rest of this town and cops hate her. God knows what would have happened."

"She seems nice and is a good mother" Bobby shrugs.

"I know we are thin stretched and I will pay for this out of my own pocket" I state. "I will do this alone, but would rather have you at my six." I level each one of them with a sincere and unguarded look.

"Low blow" Tank claps me on the back with his meat claws, making me slightly sway forward. I saw it coming and braced myself, otherwise I would have fallen flat on my face. The fucker sometimes forgets how strong he is. "Emotional blackmail...I hope she likes your ass as much as you like her." And with that the subject is done and all tension relieved.

We all walk out of the room and down the hall to the prison cell. "Trev looked the guys over and stitched up the wound." Bobby advises. "Waste of threat if you ask me."

"Quick said he will be here in an hour and to leave them alive...he didn't say by how much though." I inform my friends and swipe my card on the card reader.

"Oh I was wondering when I got to give out a good beating again…" Lester muses.

* * *

_An hour later_

Les and Bobby drag the last one by his legs into the waiting van. Quick looks at the beaten face of his Sergeant in Arms and raises an eyebrow. "He is still good. Bobby made sure of that" I assure him.

"And Johnson and the money?" Quick questions. It is a lot of money the club is out now and if that money doesn't go back into their coffers one way or another, the club will most likely vote him out of the president seat.

"I should have a plan in the next couple of days. Other stuff has come to light" To be honest I have to think about how I am going to approach this. Might need to bring Morelli into this as well, which doesn't sit well with me.

"Got ya" Quick nods. "Because it is you, I give you until the end of the month to come up with something, otherwise we will go after Johnson ourselves." And with that he gets into the driver seat of the van, but not before turning his vest inside out to ride in the 'cage' as they call it.

I turn around to my men. "That is longer than I thought he would give us" Tank says.

"Me too" I agree.


	16. Chapter 16

**Steph's POV**

"White girl I just heard from Tank what happened!" Lula exclaims and rushes through the door almost 24 hours later after Ranger and his men left.

"Come on in" I mumble, but can't help but grin. My new found friend is crazy. Today she has yellow highlights in her hair, wears bright green leggings with a flowing yellow top and sky high wedges, which I could not walk in.

"Hey Lula" Emma waives from her spot at the kitchen table. She is drawing a picture for Ranger and I am not allowed to see it until she gives it to him. I am surprised how quickly she has taken to him and how she didn't stop talking about him last night. Ranger doesn't know it, but Emma just made him her new BFF.

"Hey sweetie" Lula waives back, before turning to me with a hurt look on her face. "Why didn't you call yesterday?"

"I am sorry...there was just so much going on and I didn't want to bother you" I tell her and close the door. I don't want the neighbours to hear. They already gave me a strange look this morning when I took the trash out.

Lula waives her hand dismissively through the air. "White girl, you are no bother. How is our little girl doing?"

"Well... I think. No nightmares last night, but she hasn't exactly talked to me about it either. She just kept saying that the house was dirty and there were cockroaches." I shrug "Bobby is going to speak to her today. She didn't want to see someone else." Emma hates doctors and that ever since she broke her arm when she was three. She jumped off the shed roof at kindergarten, because someone said if she was high enough, she would be able to fly. The Teacher didn't get there in time and Emma landed on her right arm, breaking it in two places. It was like history repeating itself, since I did the same thing when I was younger, only for me it was our garage I jumped off and Joe who dared me.

"Poor thing…. you know we should do something fun while you are here. Maybe go the Jersey shore... have a picnic? My friend Connie would probably be up for that too... actually you might know her, she works for your cousin Vinnie." Lula states and I shudder at the mention of that name. Vinnie is… well I don't really know how to describe my cousin. His wife has left him more times than I can count over his love for weird porn. And by weird, I mean animal porn. He is a creeper who owns a bond enforcement agency.

"Yeah I know Connie. How she still works for him, I have no clue."

"You and me both. How about Friday? We will take my car." With a pang I realize that on Sunday we are already leaving Trenton. I cannot take much longer of work and Emma has to go back to kindergarten. I am going to miss my family, but also my new found friends.

"Sure, Friday sounds good." I nod and smile. There is another knock on the door and when I open, I find one of the Rangemen, his name is Van, standing in front of it.

"You guys ready?" He asks. I invited him and Max, who were our guards last night, up for dinner, but they said they couldn't leave their posts, so instead, Emma and I brought the food to them and had a great time.

"Yes, let's go" Emma, who insisted on wearing her favorite yellow flowery dress, comes running from the kitchen, grabs Van's hand and tucks on it impatiently. In the other hand she is clutching the picture she painted. Van raises an eyebrow at me with a mischievous grin and I nod agreement. He scoops Emma up and she lets out a delighted squeal, before the two of them make their way down the stairs, with her hanging over his shoulder, talking non stop.

"You going to Rangemen?" Lula wiggles her eyebrows and moves towards the door too.

"Nothing like that" I assure her, grab my bag and lock up. The butterflies in my stomach disagree with my words by flapping their wings even stronger.

"Mhh hm…. Sure" Lula shakes her head and mumbles something under her breath that sounds suspiciously like 'so clueless'.

* * *

**Ranger's POV**

_"For three?" Aunt Ela looks at me, as if I have grown another head. "You mean you will have company in your apartment? Like actual human beings who are not also your employees?"_

_"Yes" I'd rather she not make such a big deal out of it. "Do I have to remind you that you signed an NDA? No telling my mother."_

_"Oh please as if I would" Ela grins, but I know that the second she goes back to her office to plan my breakfast, she will speed dial my mother. "And not the healthy kind. One of them is a five year old girl."_

I replay that conversation one more time in my head and then look back at my table. My Aunt Ela is Rangemen's housekeeper and chef and I just realized I should have been more clear with my order.

I had just come out of the shower when I heard her leave, only to find my dining room table overflowing with any kind of breakfast. There are breakfast meats, different kinds of cereal, fresh fruit, pastries and I know that if I look under the covered hot plates, I will find eggs, bacon, sausages and possibly pancakes.

Just by looking at this, I am putting on the pounds. Maybe I need to hit the gym tonight again. With a shake of my head I return to my bedroom to get dressed. Just as I emerge from my walk in closet, the phone rings. They are here.

* * *

"Holy guacamole" Emma exclaims and rushes past me to the floor to ceiling windows the second I open the door.

"Emma!" Steph's scolds her daughter and shakes her head.

"Sorry mom... hi Ranger" she says, stopping long enough to waive to me, before continuing on her path.

"I swear I am teaching her manners" Steph sighs, which makes me laugh. "Hi!"

"Good morning" I grin and let her pass. She tries to discreetly look around and I am trying to see what she would.

It is pretty much a bachelor pat. A big ass TV hangs over the fireplace, opposite of which the grey, L shaped couch was placed along the floor to ceiling windows and the wall that separates my bedroom from the living room. My overflowing dining room table sits between the couch and kitchen. The open room is painted white and the floor is laid with a black carpet, the same kind that you can find in our offices below. The fronts of the kitchen are white with a grey countertop, a stainless steel fridge and a barely used professional stove top and oven can be found in that section too. The tiles are grey and look like slate. I never bring women here, except the ones that belong to my family, so it's not much and definitely only a place to crash, but having Steph look around, I wish it was more.

"What a view!" Steph exclaimes and joins Emma at the window. I turn up the creep factor, take my phone out and snap a picture of mother and daughter, who are pressing their noses to the glass. The view over Trenton is usually pretty good, but today it is great, thanks to the sun haze that gives everything a golden glow. And with the two of them in my apartment, I would even call it pretty spectacular.

I can't explain this attraction to Steph and the need to scoop Emma up and keep her safe, but it is there and I don't want to deny it. Sometime in the last few days, I have decided I am sick of being alone.

My life never lent itself to relationships of any kind. I have been in the Army, the Rangers and special ops for most of my adult life. I never wanted to have friends and a woman who would wonder if I would make it home, so I stuck to the people I worked with and only had one night stands. But now things are different and if Steph wants to we can try a friendship first and go from there.

"You guys wanna eat?" I ask and step closer. Only then both of them turn around and their eyes almost fall out of their sockets, when they see the food laid out. That makes me chuckles. I have seen both of them eat yesterday and both of them looked at food as if it was the love of their lives. How they missed the giant offering right next to them, I have no clue.

"As much as I like to say I could eat all that, my great metabolism doesn't reach quite that far." Steph smiles.

"My aunt slash housekeeper went a bit overboard" I chuckle and rub the back of my head.

"I got something for you" Emma says, drawing my eye away from her mother to the piece of paper she is holding out to me. I take it out of her hand and swallow hard.

She painted Batman, except for where the bat symbol is supposed to be, she painted the Rangemen Logo. Emma literally made me a superhero. "Wow, thank you" I manage to get out, bent down and draw her into my arms. "That will be framed and hung into my office, to make everyone jealous."

"Do you have a batcave to?" She questions and withdraws from me. My mind instantly flashes to the bunker and I have to suppress a grin. Maybe it is time to rename the real estate below the building.

"Something like that" I wink at her and push her gently towards the table.

"I am jealous too. I always wanted to be a superhero." Steph looks down at her daughter with a playful sad look on her face.

"You already are Mom!" Emma says and Steph's eyes flood with emotion, until Emma adds "but you know what grandma always says, fishing for compliments is unbecoming." Which has both, Steph and I laughing out loud.

"Cheeky monkey" Steph ruffles Emma's head.

"Come on let's eat, I am starving" I tell them and sit down at the head of the table, where placemats are laid out for Emma and Steph on either side of me.

* * *

"The least I can do is clear the table" Steph argues and tries to take the plates again, but I put my hand over hers, effectively stopping her mid task.

"I told you, no you don't." I smile, which turns into a grin as she lets out a frustrated sigh. "You are my guests, I am not letting you clean up."

"I still feel bad." She replies and sits back in her seat. Emma moved to the couch with my iPad a while ago and is now watching shows on YouTube.

"I can't believe she speaks Spanish" I say changing the subject. "She is only five."

"Nice subject change" she teases and the adds "She is very smart. Must have her brains from her father." Steph smiles proudly.

"You got her tested?" I probe. Because the way she speaks and acts seems far too mature for a five year old.

"Not yet. It is on the books, but I am afraid what it will say. If she is super smart, then she won't be able to go to a normal school, because will progress far quicker than all other kids." She replies. "I will get her tested and will do whatever it takes to keep her happy, but it is a bit daunting."

"I am sure you will figure it out." I assure her. "Maybe Bobby can help with that too."

"I can't put this on him too. You all have already helped me so much, I can never repay you."

"I am not looking for repayment." I tell her straight up. "I like you and Emma, so do the rest of the guys. Don't hesitate to ask, please!"

"I hate asking for help" she admits and looks away from me. "Asking for help means that I am not capable of doing it myself, that I am lacking. And relying on other people is just a daunting as getting her tested."

"Ask the guys, I am the worst one for it. But I also know asking for help doesn't mean I am lacking. I just like to be in control. I think maybe you are like that too." I reply softly. Before I can say anything else, there is a knock on the door announcing Bobby's arrival. I don't have to get up, because Bobby has a key. Usually he and the others just barge in, but since he knows they are here, he is being a bit more formal and I love my friend for that even more.

"Good morning" he shoots Emma and Steph a smile and I get a nod in greeting. My friend is carrying art supplies, which I assume he is going to use with Emma.

"Look at this" I grin and lift the picture Emma drew for me for him to see.

"Oh man...she drew you as batman?" Bobby shakes his head. "Hey Emma, can I be one too?"

"Will see" she replies absentmindedly.

"Alright we will leave you alone. Steph and I gonna be downstairs." With that Steph stands to talk to Emma and I get up and face Bobby properly. "There is enough food for an army, if you are hungry."

"Ela made the good stuff huh?" Bobby glows in excitement and lifts a couple of lits. "Oh definitely going to be eating some of this… and be paying for it on the treadmill later."

With a wave to Emma, I walk to the front door where Steph is already waiting and together we make our way to the fifth floor, where our main offices are located, as well as the conference room and Cantine.

I lead her to my office, where I place the picture on my desk, before ushering her to the conference room, where Hector and the others are still waiting. Let the planning begin.


	17. Chapter 17

**Steph's POV**

I am a bit overwhelmed by the information which has just been relayed to me by Hector and Zip. Also I was right, Hector does speak English, but my glee over being right is beng overshadowed by what Mark has done, it's unbelievable. How deep this does...I can just shake my head.

"We need to bring in Morelli for this" Ranger states. My head whips around to look at him in surprise. From what I have gathered those two do not get along.

"Are you sure?" I bite down on my lip in worry. Once Joe finds out what has happened, things are going to be not so great for me. He is going to lose it and his Italian temper will come out and play.

"Yes" Lester nods. "With the corruption at the prison and the hospital, we need to get the cops involved. We cannot just take Johnson out. He is too embedded into the community and if he'd disappear, people would notice. We need to bring the whole system down." I only nod in reply and in that same moment, Ranger punches in a number on the phone which sits in the middle of the table. It only rings a couple of time before a "Morelli" comes through the loud speaker.

"Manoso here" Ranger answers. "I am here with Steph and you are on loudspeaker."

"What is going on?" I hear a door close in the background, before a chair creaks under Joe's weight. H must have stepped into his office. "Why is Steph there?"

"We need you to come to Rangemen ASAP." I tell him before Ranger says "For once can you not ask any questions and just get your ass here Morelli? This is time sensitive and cannot be discussed over the phone."

"Please Joe" I add, because Ranger wasn't going to. I am sure of that. After a few seconds Joe finally says "be in there in 10" and hangs up.

* * *

True to his word, Joe strolls into the conference room 10 minutes later with a scowl on his face. He sits in the seat next to me without acknowledging any of the other men and asks "Are you in trouble Cupcake?"

I take a deep breath and and explain the whole thing from the beginning. To my suprise, Joe stays silent through it all. When I finish with yesterday morning, Zip pipes in explaining what they found.

"We discovered that Johnson has a bank account in the Bahamas with a tonne of money in it that was funneled through various shell companies. Over the last year mid range cash withdrawls were made which coincide with deposits made into accounts belonging to the head warden, several officers in the prison, the prison doctor and the doctor who treated Richard Orr at the hospital." Zip concludes and Joe turns to me and asks "Do you not trust me?"

"Of course I do!" I exclaim. "Why would you even ask that?"

"Because you called him.." he points a finger over his shoulder "before you called me two days later. You called him over your cop brother in law and oldest friend."

"Joe, this town and the cops hate me. You know as well as I do that I wouldn't have gotten her back this quickly...you heard what Eddie said at the funeral, just because he is dead doesn't mean I am off the hook." I put my hand on his arm and pull him closer. "I love you Joe, but they wouldn't have gone above and beyond to find her. Emma is his offspring. You and I would have gotten the run around." I hold his gaze to make sure he knows that am telling the truth.

A war is raging behind his eyes, the muscles in his jaw tick, until he releases a sigh and nods. "I don't like it, but...you are right. I probably would have come to Ramgemen myself in the end." He turns around to face Ranger and adds "We have to approach this as silent as possible. No one can get wind of this."

"This is not my first Rodeo Morelli" Ranger growls, but when I shoot him a glare that says 'Play nice' he adds with less Rangerness "We need to leave the kidnapping under wraps as much as possible."

"I am not an idiot, Manoso" Joe snaps and I just shoot him a glare as well. This time it says 'Be nice'. He sighs, runs his hands through his hair, which is long overdue for a haircut, and looks from me to Ranger. "It is going to be tricky, since we have to get the FBI involved in this."

"I know a few people, want me to call them?" Ranger asks surprising me and Joe. He actually asked. Ranger seems more like the take-charge kind of person.

"Yeah, go ahead" Joe nods. With that Ranger steps out of the room and my eyes follow him through the glass wall. That man has a magnificent physique, like the men in those romance books I read. I would love to take a peek at what he is hiding under those combat clothes of his.

"How is Emma?" Joe questions, drawing my eyes back to him.

"She is okay, considering. Bobby is talking to her now." I explain. "Hopefully there won't be any lasting trauma.."

"Whatever you two need…" Joe says and I place my hand on his arm.

"I know." I nod. He has always been there for me, even after Joe found out his parents had given my husband their life savings. He has always stood beside me and was the first one who suggested that I'd get out of town. "I am sorry I didn't call you...but Ranger…"

"I know. He can do things I cannot." My friend nods in understanding. "But I hate that I now have to owe him" he adds grumbling.

"You don't owe him...I do. And when I finally have the money from Switzerland, I will pay him and his people for his time." I say just as Ranger walks back into the room.

"She is on her way."

* * *

_A few hours later_

"Everyone, this is Jeanne Borrow. Special Agent with the FBI." Ranger introduces the pretty brunette, who just walked into the conference room ahead of him. We took a break until she got here, because apparently there was no need to plan, until the FBI joined us. So I took Emma to the nearest park, with Ranger and Joe in tow. Both men kept checking their surroundings, as if they thought Mark or one of his goonies would appear out of nowhere.

"Hi" She smiles and Ranger places a hand on her back to guide her forward. These two have a story. Maybe even an ongoing one. A flash of disappointment runs through me, but I shake it off. I have no right. I am leaving in a few days anyways, never to see him again. So I smile back at her and listen while she gets caught up on everything as well.

"We have to exhume the body, which is going to be difficult to do under the radar, as Johnson's reach seems to go far." Jeanne says and writes something down on the notepad in front of her, on which she has been keeping notes this whole time. "I will get a warrant for wire tab and we have to put a bug into his office. That is just one of the million things we have to get done."

"I have two of my guys on him. They are following him everywhere." Ranger states. "He won't make a move without us knowing."

"Good...now let's get planning."


	18. Chapter 18

"I don't like this" Joe mutters for the millionth time a couple of days later.

"I will be fine" I smile at him, before bringing my eyes back to Jeanne and Ranger.

"We will have eyes on the building the whole time, my men just can't get in, because they would stand out like sore thumbs." Ranger repeats. "All you have to do is plant the bug in this office, say your goodbyes and leave. Okay?"

"Okay" I nod and take the bug from him. The initial idea was to have one of Jeanne's agents go in as the cleaning crew, however we discovered that Mark has his own crew including back up staff, which meant anyone new would be immediately detected. Paranoid much?

"Don't ask him about anything related to your husbands death. Just pretend that everything is normal and you are just there saying your goodbyes. We can't have him be tipped off." Jeanne repeats for the hundredth time and I just nod again. I tried to dislike her, because of the connection she has with Ranger, but she is good at everything and seems to be well respected amongst the Rangemen crew. Also I found out that I was right, they used to be an item when they were in the Army together, before Ranger moved to Trenton and she went to Quantico.

"I am a really bad liar and he is a really good lawyer" I repeat my concerns.

"Just stick as close to the truth as possible." Ranger reminds me. "And you will do great."

I take one last deep breath, before getting into my car. "We will meet you back at Lula's." Joe reminds me and closes the door. I start the engine and back out the Rangemen garage.

The closer I get to Mark's office, the more nervous I get. "All you have to do is not tip him off" I repeat over and over again, until I park in front of his building. With one last deep breath, I exit the car. Mark knows I am coming to visit, so I am swiftly shown into his office when I get to his floor. "How are you?" He greets me with a big smile and a hug, which I have a hard time returning.

"I am fine. Ready to go home." I force a smile on my lips and sit down on the couch.

"I bet. You look exhausted." He comments and sits down on the other end. "When are you going?"

"I am exhausted. Dealing with the funeral and the other affairs, it was just a lot." I sigh and run my hands over my face, hoping it is convincing enough. "We are leaving Sunday."

"I am sorry to hear that" Mark says. "But what about the house here?"

"I am not sure yet. I will be back in a few months to decide it's fate. At the moment it is just too much." I explain. "I need to get Emma back to normality."

"I get that." He nods. "It is best for her."

"And for me. This town has nothing to offer me anymore." I state, but while I say what I believed for the longest time as true, my heart is heavy with the thought of leaving. I really don't want to, but our life is in Mount Baker and I am not sure if moving here would be good for my daughter.

"Don't be a stranger Steph. Let's not go this long again without talking to each other." Mark says and stands. Clearly he wants to kick me out, but I still need to figure out where to drop the bug. Jeanne said it can be put into a plant, as it is waterproof, but there are none in his office.

"I agree. Let me give you my cell phone number, so you do not have to go through Mr Manoso again to call me." I say, stand as well and walk over to his desk. I grab his notepad as well as a pen from the pen holder all the while scanning his desk, but can't find anywhere to hide the bug. I pull out my phone, place it on his desk and look for my number, because I can never remember it.

"Mr Johnson, Mr. Irvan is here and waiting in room 2." His receptionist says through the intercom.

"I am sorry, I have to go" Mark says, before I can write down the number. I turn towards him with a smile on my face.

"No worries. I will email you my number instead." I give him a hug and add "Thank you so much for everything. I am glad Dickie had you to look out for him until his last moments." The words taste like vinegar coming out of my mouth and I barely manage to get them out without adding sarcasm.

"Speak soon" He nods as I pull away. Mark grabs a folder from his desk and shows me out of the door. He turns left towards the conference rooms and I turn right to the reception.

* * *

**Ranger's POV**

"She hasn't planted the bug yet...shit!" Joe curses and starts jiggling his leg again. Apparently this situation is making him anxious enough to reveal is nervous tick. Normally he is like me, unreadable.

"I don't think she had the opportunity. We will find another way." Jeanne says, but I can tell she is disappointed that this didn't work. A prime opportunity wasted, but I rather have this fail than Steph getting caught.

" _Shit_ " we hear Steph curse over the wire, which has all of us straightening and watching the radio. " _I forgot my phone._ " Steph sighs and we all release a breath. We hear her move again, before her voice comes through " _I am sorry, I forgot my phone in Mark's office, could I just go in and grab it?_ "

_"I cannot let you into his office without supervision, Mam."_

_"That is fine, just accompany me then. But I really need my phone and I have another appointment across town, so I cannot wait."_ Steph retorts and puts a bit of desperation in her tone.

That same moment the phone rings in the background and we can practically hear the receptionists hesitation, before she says " _Fine go in. But be fast._ "

" _Thank you_ " I hear the smile in Steph's voice and then she starts moving again.

"We are back in business" Joe grins smugly, as if he didn't just get upset over her not being able to plant the bug.

A door opens and closes, but there is no sound coming from Steph. We told her that Johnson may have a permanent recording device installed and that if he leaves the office not to say anything which is aimed at us. "Ahhh there you are" Steph says out loud and we hear her pick the bug out of her pocket and place it somewhere, before moving away. A door opens and closes again in the distance and then it is all quiet.

A couple of minutes later we see Steph exit the building on the live feed which is coming from the two men I have dispatched to watch Johnson. Relief floods through me as I watch her get into the car and drive off.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later she walks into the apartment with a grin on her face. "As much as I would like to say the phone thing was planned, it was a complete accident."

"You done good, Cupcake" Joe wraps her into a hug. If I didn't know that he was happily married to her sister, I'd get jealous.

"I am gonna get going. As discussed, you will need to leave Trenton by the end of this week to not arouse suspicion." Jeanne states and moves towards Joe and Steph.

"I will be gone by Sunday evening. Do you think he will come after us?" Steph asks.

"We have people on him, if he makes a move, we will know about it." I assure her.

"Once it will become public knowledge that we are exhuming your husband's body, we will keep a close eye on him. But I don't expect that to be the case for another few weeks. The Judge on this case wants all evidence before we start digging." Jeanne adds.

"Okay" Steph releases a shaky breath and walks over to Jeanne and wraps her arms around her. "Thank you!" Jeanne has never been a touchy feely person, so it surprises me when she wraps her arms around Steph as well. After a few seconds both let go and Jeanne leaves without another word.

"I gotta go too, Val is waiting for me." Joe shoots Steph a smile and me a warning glare, before following Jeanne out the door. He told me in no uncertain terms earlier today not to fuck with Steph or he would make my life very difficult. Some of the stuff we do isn't exactly legal, yet morally justifiable, but Morelli won't hesitate to make an example out of me, if I give him enough motivation.

For a few seconds, Steph and I just look at each other in silence with the electricity just zinging between us. I really would love to just go over an kiss her senseless, but given the way the world currently is, it could be classed as sexual assault, so I just keep standing here like an idiot, biding my time until I am sure it is what she would want too.

"Fuck it" I hear her mutter under her breath and rushes forward. She doesn't stop until her lips connect with mine, surprising the heck out of me. It takes me a couple of seconds before my brain catches on and my hands automatically move to either side of her face. I pull away slightly and look into her beautiful blue eyes, which are filled with lust.

"Are you sure?" I ask and only receive a nod in return, which is good enough for me to crash my lips back onto hers. Sparks fly and I am instantly rock hard. Just from a simple kiss. I don't even want to imagine what happens if we get naked. I fear the whole building may explode. I open my lips slightly and run my tongue along her bottom lip, hoping she will open up her own and let me in. In an instant she complies with my silent request.

I don't know how long we stand there entranced in our own little bubble, tongues dueling. First slowly then more desperately, before we start pulling at each others clothes. My shirt comes off first, then her top. My belt gets opened roughly and my metal belt buckle hits me hard in the leg, but I ignore it. There are more important things to things to worry about than a bruise. I back us towards the counter that separates the kitchen from the living room, while trying not to break our kiss and losing more of our clothing.

Once I have her close to the counter, I pick her up and place her on the edge of it, pushing her skirt up at the same time. I step between her open legs, push down her bra cups and start kissing my way down her throat to her breasts. She releases a whimper, when I latch on to her nipple, but seconds later I find my head jerked back by my hair and her mouth back on mine. That, and the fact that she pushes my pants and boxer briefs down with her other hand and feet, is enough indication for me that she does not want the foreplay.

I scramble to free her of her panties and step even closer. I barely have the sense to pull away and grab a condom out of my dropped pants, before I try to slowly press into her. But Steph takes charge yet again and wraps her legs around me urging me along. With one hard push, I enter her, making us both groan. She is so tight, that I actually have to stop to get my inner animal back onto a leash.

"Lose control, please god, just do it" Steph whimpers between kisses and squeezing me tighter with her pelvic floor. I take in a deep breath and then another, before she squeezes me again. And that is when I lose my mind. With a growl I pull out and slam back in, making her moan, which just encourages my inner beast.

I set a steady and fast pace, with Steph hanging onto me for the ride. Our kisses turn fanatic, she gets tighter with each stroke and her moans louder. I grid my teeth and think of anything but how good her body feel wrapped around mine. A couple of strokes later she comes with a scream, burying her head into my neck and biting into my shoulder, to muffle the scream. The pain from her bite is such a turn on, that it takes me over the edge as well. With a groan I bury myself all the way inside of her and will my knees not to give out on me.

Once I have come down a little, I push her further onto the counter and lean my thighs against it, because I am still afraid that my knees might give out. I pull back slightly and look at her. Some of her hair has fallen out of her pony tail and is now standing up in all kinds of directions, her lips are swollen from the kisses and her cheeks are flushed red. When I look into her eyes, I find shock. Fuck. Instantly regret washes over me like a cold shower. I should not have lost control over this. "I am sorry" I say softly and brush some hair behind her ear, before trying to pull away, but she locks her legs over my ass.

"I am not" She touches her lips with her hands and then starts giggling. Which does not make

me feel better. AT. ALL.

"Woman, do you not know, not to laugh after a man just made you come?" I ask and raise an eyebrow.

"It's just…" she says between giggles. The shock in her eyes vanishes and all is left is pure happiness, which has me relaxing a bit. "I never done this...I have never been this forward, spontaneous or rough." She adds and runs her fingers over the spot where she bit me. I am hoping she left a mark.

"I would apologize, but the smile you are sporting tells me you liked it." I shoot her a smug grin and she ducks her head in embarrassed, which only causes me to grin more. "So when is Emma coming back?"

"Not until tomorrow morning" she lifts her head and smiles. And there goes my heart. "I have to pick her up early to go to the beach."

"What you say we try this again somewhere more comfortable?" I ask and reluctantly pull away from her. I get rid of the condom and pull up my pants. While she slips of the counter, I quickly text Tank to tell him I am offline until tomorrow morning. His reply is only a winky face.


	19. Chapter 19

_"You want to come?" I turn around and look at Ranger in surprise. "It is just going to be a girls trip. There will be nothing interesting for you there…. Just a bunch of gossip."_

_"Babe, we don't know what Johnson has up his sleeve and I am not leaving you out there on your own. Also I am not going to let my men get an eye ful of this" He replies and runs his eyes up and down my naked body. "Also if I am going, Tank would want to come. I am sure Lester would love to come too. Joe will probably want to join…."_

_"When did you and Joe become buddies?" I narrow my eyes at him and slip on my thong at the same time._

_"We have come to a truce where you are concerned." Ranger shrugs lazily and gets out of bed. He steps behind me just as I close my bra. "When do you have to pick up Emma again?" He asks and kisses the back of my neck, just below my hairline._

_I shudder and suppress a grin. I have been trying the get dressed for the better part of the last two hours, but he keeps getting me out of my clothes. "Nope...you are not doing this again…. I am sore and need to be fed…. so get dressed, we are going for breakfast, before I go and get Emma."_

_"No fun" Ranger or Carlos as he asked me to start calling him yesterday, pouts making me laugh._

* * *

"How did this turn from a girls trip to a sausage fest?" Connie questions, bringing me back to the present, and looks around with her sunglasses pushed to the tip of her nose and her big straw hat pushed all the way back.

Carlos was right, when he announced he was taking us to the beach, Lester, Tank and Bobby immediately jumped at the chance to join in. Hector and Zip also joined and have been ogling each other all day, but either has yet to make the move. I am not sure if they are oblivious that they are both are into each other or just shy.

Of course Carlos also texted Joe, who jumped on board instantly, bringing his whole clan. We all met up bright an early at Rangmen, while us girls fit into one car the boys and our children had to be split over two more cars.

I wasn't the only one who was confused when we pulled up to the gates of a mansion right at the beach and Ranger punched in the security code. Turns out he owns this place.

"Girl, you should be happy…." Lula retords "There are a few single men here, who keep eyeing your curves. This may actually get you laid. There are cobwebs in your nether regions."

"Nether regions?" I laugh out loud and almost fall of my sunbed. "Lula…." I can't control myself. The sun and the couple of cocktails we had while staring at the boys, made me relax, which causes me now to laugh without abandonment. I clutch my stomach and try to get it under control, but one look at Connie sets me off again.

Soon enough, the other four laugh as well.

"What is so funny Ladies?" Lester asks when comes to get the ball Emma accidentally threw over in our direction. She may not take after me brainwise, but any type of sport she sucks at, just like I do.

"Oh Lester, you don't want to know" Val wipes the tears away from under her eyes.

"Moooom" Emma shouts across the private beach while she comes running towards me. "I want to go swimming in the Ocean." I knew it would come and now I am not sure how to turn her down, without her getting upset. As much as I like the beach, I am not in favour of waves.

I am about to turn her down and tell her to ask Uncle Joe, when Carlos steps up behind my daughter. He looks yummy in his black board shorts and black sunglasses with all his muscles on display. I really want to lick them again. As if he can tell my wandering thoughts he shoots me a knowing grin, before going to his knees to be on eye level with Emma. "How about leave your mom to catch up with her friends and I take you swimming?"

"Thanks Batman" She shoots him a grin and wraps her arms around his neck. Without effort, he lifts her into his arms and marches down towards the water with Emma squealing the whole way.

"OHHH LORDY, my ovaries just exploded" Connie states and fans her face, making me chuckle.

"Amen sister" Val and I sigh at the same time, making all of us giggle again.

"Women" Lester shakes his head and marches off towards the ocean too, with Joe and his brood coming up behind him.

"Does Emma know?" Val asks. I filled all of them in on the drive over. With their prodding, not a detail was left out.

"No." I shake my head. "This can't go anywhere, so this will be it. I don't want to give her any ideas."

"Why can't this go anywhere?" Lula questions. "I told you before, he has the means to come and see you. Just give it a chance."

"I agree with Lula, sister dearest." Val nods to my right and takes a sip of her alcohol free cocktail. "No matter what your head is telling you right now, you deserve this. You deserve to be happy."

"He lives miles away and besides…." I say and swallow hard. "He has the ability to break my heart."

"I don't think he will." Connie disagrees. "I think he is already there, where as you are still hesitating."

* * *

I stomach rumbles loudly, when I take in the huge feast the boys put out on the balcony of Carlos' beach house. There are Ribs, Steaks, Sausages, marinated chicken breasts and pork and beef skewers. Also laid out are multiple salads, BBQ'd veggies and bread. Even for the amount of people here, this will be way too much food.

"Go on, help yourself, I will sort out Emma." Carlos says when he steps up behind me. I look around and don't see Emma anywhere, so I turn to be face to face with him. For a few seconds I let my eyes drift to the perfect sunset behind him, before looking at him.

"You don't have to do that. I am capable to feed my own daughter." I say and seconds later realize that it sounds way snippier than it was meant to be. "I am sorry, that came out all wrong."

"I don't think it did" Calos states and takes a step back. "Babe, just accept the help. I am offering and I am happy to do it. I like Emma." I sigh and lower my head. Today was a perfect day, but now that it is winding down, my head is working overtime. I can't stop thinking about the what if's and no scenario I can come up with has us riding in the sunset together. "Let's talk about this later, okay? I think we need to get a few things straight."

I only nod and then feel him move away. I turn back towards the food, trying to decide what to take. I don't know how to not get ahead of myself. For years I relied only on myself and a little on Renee and Lucas, but that is it. I once relied on Dickie, but we all know how that turned out. So trusting that this is going anywhere but down hill, is really hard. Fact is we live at opposite ends of the country and even if he flies over a few times, eventually this will frizzle out. Things will come up and then it is missed phone calls, missed flights and then the realization that long distance just doesn't work. In the end one of us will have to move and I can't ask that of Carlos.

"You know that he has never brought anyone but the Rangemen core team to this house?" A heavy spanish accents questions behind me.

"No I didn't" I shake my head and turn around to find Hector leaning against the railing with his arms crossed over his naked chest. All of the Rangemen I saw today are in top shape and totally drool worthy, but Carlos is the best of all of them.

"What you have to understand is that Ranger is a highly private person. The only people who know him from the inside out are Lester, Bobby and Tank. Even though I am part of the core Team, these four have a strong bond, because they all served together" He conveys. "Like I said he has never brought anyone here apart from the four of us. So for him to open up his home to not just you, but your family and friends, should tell you something."

I get where he is going with this, but my head doesn't want to hear it. "You are a good person Steph and a great Mom, but you also have the potential to break his heart. This is the first time in years that I have seen him take multiple days off to just have fun. He is a workaholic, but for the right person, he will give it all up."

"I am not asking him too" I reply. "Never would."

"You wouldn't have to, he would do it without being asked."

"This is scary... We have only known each other for a few days… This can't be something."

"Hermosa… my mother met my father and knew in a heartbeat that he was the man for her. Now even though he wasn't a good man in the eye of the law, he loved my mother until the day he died. He always said the second he laid eyes on her, he knew there would be no one else. Don't fight your instincts. Trust them." With that he comes to stand in front of me. In one swift move, he takes the plate out of my hand, places it on the table behind me and envelopes me into the mother of all hugs.

A sigh escapes me when his arms squeeze me tight and apart from when I am with Ranger, I never felt safer. "So why are you fighting what is between you and Zip?"

"Nice subject change Princesa." Hec chuckles, but keeps his arms around me. "Zip is way too young for me."

"Sounds like an excuse." I smile into his tanned shoulder.

"I have done things…." He starts and takes a deep breath. "Let's just say I don't want to taint him with my darkness."

"That should be his choice to make, don't you think?" I ask.

"You should do as you preach Carina" Hec chuckles and lets me go.

"Mhh...so should you" I wink at him, before I turn, grab my plate and join the rest of our mismatched clan.


	20. Chapter 20

**Steph's POV**

I look around Lula's apartment and sigh. Part of me really wants to stay and that part is also the one hopelessly crushing on Carlos.

We didn't get a chance to talk after the trip to the beach, because I fell asleep on the car ride home and he carried me inside, but didn't stay.

Saturday, we didn't get a chance either, because a work emergency came up.

Today is Sunday and Emma and I are leaving and I am not sure if we are coming back. Even after Hector's words, my mind just doesn't stop. I want to believe that this will work out, that long distance is the way to go, but it is so new and I am not sure whether this will withstand the distance. Yes, if there is one man who has the means to come to see me, it would be him, but I can't ask that of Carlos.

I can't ask him to travel across the entire country just to see me. And then it wouldn't be every weekend, at most it would be once a month and that is no relationship.

My gaze falls onto our packed bags which are sitting by the door, waiting for my family to pick me up to go to the airport. Emma spent her last night with her grandparents, so I could get everything in order. Carlos' last message from last night said that he'd come and see me before I leave, but I haven't heard anything from him today and I do not want to be one of those nagging girlfriends. WOW….where did that come from? I am not his girlfriend...realistically I am not his anything.

I groan and bury my face in my hands. Time to stop overthinking this, I have to clean the rest of the apartment for Lula.

* * *

A few hours later, I get into my parents car with disappointment. Ranger didn't call or text, so in a weak and emotional moment, I pulled the plug. I told him that I had fun, but to leave it at that, since we both know it wouldn't go anywhere.

"Mom, I really don't want to go." Emma says and all I can think _is 'me neither'_.

"I know, I am sorry." I kiss the top of her head and buckle myself in.

Once we get to the airport, we kiss and hug my parents at the entrance for a good ten minutes. None of us want to let go. When we finally make it inside, I barely suppress a groan at the sight that greets me. The bag drop off line is insanely long. With a sigh I lift Emma on top of the card and push us to the end of the queue.

"Oh thank God I caught you" I hear Carlos' voice behind me and turn around to see him jogging towards us in all his muscled glory. That man should come with a warning sign 'Will disintegrate panties with one good look'. Without being out of breath, he stops in front of me with a big smile. "So just that we are clear, this is far from over. I deleted your message and I am going to pretend I never read it."

"Hey Batman" Emma beams at him and seconds later she is in Carlos' arms.

"Hey little girl, you excited to go home?" After he took her for a swim in the ocean, they were inseparable for the rest of the day.

"No, I don't want to go." Emma shakes her head vehemently. "I am gonna miss you."

"Well you won't have to miss me for long. I am going to pay you a visit sometime this month."

"Promise?" She asks and his eyes lock on mine when he answers "Promise." My heart skips a beat, but my head tells me I should slow down, to not get ahead of myself, to put a stop to this. As if he sees the doubt in my eyes, he holds up his pinkie finger to me. "I pinkie swear that I will come and visit you."

"Ohhhoooo that's a big promise" Emma's eyes are as big as saucers. "Everyone knows that a pinkie swear is the law." I laugh out loud, which causes multiple people to turn around and look at us, but I don't care. His face is open, no sign of his blank face and there is so much vulnerability that it makes my heart skip a beat again. It makes me realize that I am not the only one who is scared of this. Maybe it is time to take a chance and live a little. If he breaks my heart, so be it. I wrap my own pinkie around his and move it up and down to seal the deal.

Here goes to nothing.


	21. Chapter 21

**Ranger's POV**

_**Two weeks later** _

"Nope, take it to Tank, I am offline for the next four days." I tell the new recruit, who looks at me as if I spoke in Swahili. I mean I speak some words, but not enough to form full sentences.

"You are completely offline?" He asks, still not moving to take the emergency to Tank.

"If you don't get a move on in the next two seconds, you are fired Swanson!" I growl, which finally gets him moving. "Rounds on the Matts when I get back" I shout after him. Seems like I have to instill some fear into the new recruit. When I hear him groan, I add "the Matt time just doubled." It's like I am dealing with fucking children.

In that same moment Lester walks into my office with a grin on his face. "The previous you would have taken that emergency, no matter what."

"Yeah well the previous me didn't have a plane to catch to see a pretty brunette with crazy hair. You good to go?" I ask and gather my phone and keys from my desk. My suitcase is already in the trunk of the car, my passport has been in my pocket since I got up this morning and all there is to do is to get on the plane.

"You might want to call our pilot and get him ready asap. I just got word that somehow Johnson slipped our tails and has just landed in Seattle." Tanks announces as he walks into the room.

I have the phone on my ear a second later, but only her voicemail picks up. Fuck. "Babe call me asap!" I tell her and hang up, while I watch Lester talk to our pilot. I was meant to fly commercial, which would take far too long. "I will need backup. Lester, Hal and Manny are coming with me."

"They are already gathering their gear" Tank nods, before he leaves my office he adds "Keep me updated."

"Is that what Swanson wanted?" I question and when Tank nods his head I add "he couldn't just come out and say it?" But before Tank can answer I start jogging across the room with Lester on my tail.

Lester makes a stop at his apartment to get his gear and I go all the way down to the garage to get my stuff out of the Carrera and into an Rangemen SUV. Thankfully I keep spare guns in my car. By the time I am done, the others have already made it downstairs. Without hesitation they throw their stuff into the back and not even a minute later we peel out of the garage towards the private airport.

* * *

**Steph's POV**

I look around my clean house and can't help to bounce up and down in excitement. The day has finally come. Two agonizing weeks of talking on the phone and texting and I will finally get to be in his arms again in just a few hours. I have the weekend off, including today, because Renee and Lucas determined that I would be useless anyways in anticipation of Carlos' arrival.

Emma is at school and I have cleaned the house from top to bottom. This place has never smelled or looked better than today. I turn the music up a little more and start dancing when Rihanna's Pon de Replay blasts through the house via the WiFi speakers Joe insisted on buying me.

Our house is an open plan two story wooden house and I fell in love with it the moment when I saw it, which was shortly after I arrived in the area. When you walk through the front door you have stairs to the left, which lead to a master bedroom with ensuite bathroom and two smaller rooms, one of those is Emma's bedroom and the other the guest bedroom slash office. Walking straight past the stairs you have a small bathroom to the right before you walk into the open-plan kitchen, dining and living room area. The living room part is to the right, the kitchen and dining room to the left.

The floor to ceiling windows along the back of the house open up completely and make the space even bigger.

The house is on the smaller size but the property is large. I bought this place with the money my parents sent me, because they insisted we needed our own place. I think they had in mind for me to rent something, but the price was too cheap to pass up. The family needed money. The old guy who lived here had died and the people he left behind were hit hard by the 2008 financial crisis and never really recovered.

The place was a little run down, but I brought it slowly back into shape.

Still dancing I empty the dirty water, from mopping the floors, into the downstairs toilet, but halt my movements when the music stops and an alarm rings through the house, alerting me that someone has crossed the property lines. Joe may or may not have insisted on buying and installing premium surveillance for the whole property. He said that he couldn't have his sister in law and his goddaughter live in the middle of nowhere amongst dangerous animals with miles separating us from my nearest neighbour. And yet he never suggested I get a gun.

I shake my head, chuckling to myself at the memory of when he found out I had a gun a few weeks ago, while I place the bucket at my feet and quickly make my way over to the monitoring station. I could also pull this up on my phone, but it is further away. "Where are you Raymond?" I mutter to myself, thinking it is just going to be our resident black bear. Black bears usually do not come down this far and mostly live further up in the mountain, but Raymond seems to have taken it upon himself to check in on us every few weeks. He once came really close to Emma, which nearly gave me a heart attack and brought me to my knees in relief when he just sniffed her hair and then turned and walked away.

I quickly flick through the channels of the various cameras, but cannot see anything until I get to the last one. Only it isn't Raymond coming up the driveway, it is Mark and he has brought a big friend. I instantly press the panic button next to the monitors, turn of the alarm as well as locking the monitoring station. The alarm cannot be heard that far from the house, which means he won't know, that I know, that he is here. I leave the music on, grab my phone from the coffee table and go into the kitchen.

On my way to the broom closet, I grab my flannel shirt from the back of the kitchen door and then open the closet to the left and press gently against the back wall, which instantly opens. I squeeze past the brooms, step over the vacuum cleaner and into the closet and close the door behind me, before stepping through the wall and then pushing it back into place.

I am now standing under the staircase. Emma and I discovered this by accident, when she jammed the vacuum cleaner into the closet and the wall gave away. She thought she had broken it, turns out that the previous owner dug a secret escape that no one but he and us know about. I turn the flashlight on on my phone and cringe at all the spiderwebs. Suppressing a shudder, I quickly move down twelve steps before hitting the bottom.

The tunnel was not made for tall people, so I have to hunch over to not hit my head on the ceiling, which is concrete for as long as you are walking under the foundation of the house, after that it looks like one of those prohibition tunnels, held up by wooden posts. I put on my boots, which are sitting next to Emma's at the bottom of the steps and then grab the backpack that is right next to them. I have kept there fully stocked ever since I found this place. Paranoid, maybe, but I had good reasons. Next I grab the beretta and ammunition out of the locked box mounted to the wall, before pulling the CCTV feed up on my phone.

The reception is spotty through the concrete and dirt, but I can make out that Mark and his friend are almost at the front door. I don't think they are stupid, which means they will turn the house upside down for me and eventually find this tunnel. I strap the gun to my leg, the bag to my back, before grabbing the flashlight which hangs on the wall and continuing down the dark tunnel.

The Security company would have been alerted by the push of the button, but I am half an hour out of town and the police, even with sirens, won't get here in under 12 minutes. Hunched over, with quickened steps I cover ground quickly and before I know it, five minutes later, I am at the end of the tunnel.

I take my gun out of my holster and carefully open the hatch, while scanning for anything out of place. Luckily, no one is there. I quickly get out, close the hatch and then add multiple biggish stones on top of it. Why should I make it easy on them?

Hoping that Mark only brought one guy with him and not more are waiting for me down the hill, I get on the mountain bike I keep hidden in the bushes. My phone vibrates in my pocket and I pull it out. Carlos' name is flashing on the screen and I swipe right to answer. "Can't talk right now! Mark is here." I tell him and push away and onto the road.

"Where are you?" He sounds out of breath and there is a lot of noise in the background.

Ignoring his question, I tell him what is more important. "I need you to call the school."

"Already done Babe, they will keep her inside. Police are on their way to get Emma" Relief floods through me and for a second I wobble, before catching my balance and pushing the pedals harder. "Babe, where are you?"

"Biking down the mountain, I need to get to the car at the bottom of the hill. I will pick up Emma and hide."

"Babe...be careful. I will be there in 10 hours. I have mobilized my guys from Houston, they are already in the air. Approximate arrival less than four hours." Carlos informs me. "Just stay safe. I am flying private so you can call me anytime."

"Okay" I answer shakily. There is no help around apart from the cops. At least they will be closer to Emma than I am. By car it takes me 20 minutes, by bike at least double that. I quickly hang up and start paddling like crazy, hoping everything will work out.


	22. Chapter 22

**Ranger's POV**

I have never been one to sit still or good at letting my thoughts wander. So being trapped in this steel cage at 30 000 feet in the air and with nothing to do but to worry about Steph, is my personal form of hell.

"She will be fine" Les says not for the first time since we took of two fucking hours ago. While cleaning his gun, he keeps glancing over to me with a worried expression, as if I am about to go apeshit crazy in an airplane. We do have parachutes on this plane, so while the idea of flipping my lid is tempting, it wouldn't get me to Steph any quicker.

"She will be, once I get to her" I growl. "If this pilot would just fly faster."

"You know he cannot fly faster than he already does." Les replies, continuing to clean his gun.

"Here, keep yourself busy, boss" Hal says and hands me his Machine gun. With a resigned sigh and worry attacking my stomach like acid, I grab the gun and start taking it apart.

* * *

**Steph's POV**

"What do you mean she isn't here, Ray?" I ask the cop in front of me. Ray is a long time customer at the Shop and his daughter goes to school with Emma . "I was told by the school that two Officers came by to take her to the station."

"Dickson is calling the school now to find out the names of the officers...please sit down, before you fall down." He guides me into a chair and I put my face into my hands. "I will be right back." Ray adds and then I hear his footsteps walking away.

As soon as I had made it to the car at the bottom of the mountain, I drove like a crazy person to the school, who advised me that the cops came and took her to the station. I broke about a million traffic laws on my way here, only to be told she isn't here either. Panic is setting in and worry is gnawing at all my insides. The tingling at the back of my neck tells me something is seriously wrong.

My phone beeps and I fish it from my pocket. It is a picture of Emma sitting on Mark's lap at our house with the caption ' _Price has gone up. $700 000 in coins. Pay by midnight or else. Come alone!_ '. I bite down hard on my lip to keep myself from screaming. The bastard has her!

"Stephanie Plum?" a man's voice asks, making me look up. In front of me is an Asian man, built like a brick shit house with tattoos all over his arms, military haircut and a kind smile on his face. "I am David Rodriguez, Rangemen" He adds and points to the print on his shirt. Sure enough, it says Rangemen Inc. Houston. Behind him are two latino looking guys, with stony expressions and past them, out in the parking lot are at least ten more men, all wearing the Rangemen Inc. Shirts.

The cavalry has arrived. Relief floods through me, a sob escapes my throat and the tears I have been trying to hold back are now freely running down my cheeks. "I am sorry" I say and press my knuckles into my eyes to keep them from leaking. "Shit...I am sorry…" I feel someone step closer and sit down next to me. Before I can even look up, I am pulled into a pair of strong arms and a muscled chest. Man, do all Rangemen come in prime condition?

The chest moves with a chuckle, making me realize I must have said that out loud. "It's okay, we are here now and we are ready to help." the chest assures me, forgoing to comment on my slip up.

"Mark has her" I tell the chest and instantly my eyes leak again. Fuck! "He texted me...they are at our home..he said to come alone and to bring 700k in coins."

"Shhhh it's okay...we will come up with a plan" The chest replies soothingly. While it doesn't calm me completely, it does make me hopeful that I will get Emma back in one piece. The chest turns slightly before saying something in spanish.

"Stephanie?" I pull away from the chest to look at Ray, only to discover that the chest does not belong to David, but one of his other associates. I must be sporting a funny look, because the Chest's lips turn up at the sides and he simply introduces himself as "Drago". "Stephanie...who are these men?"

"Ray...it's okay, they are friends" I rush to explain, after seeing the look he throws at the Rangemen. "They are here to help."

"Civilians cannot assist on police matters." Ray shoots each of them a glare, before he turns to me. "The school had provided us with the names of the guys who picked up Emma. They are not police officers. They also avoided all of the cameras and parked in a spot where there were no traffic cameras." Downside of living in the middle of nowhere. "What happened Stephanie? We got a call from the FBI and a Security Company in Trenton, who are both saying Emma is in grave danger. What is going on?" I look at Drago and then David for help. I do not know how much I am allowed to tell Ray..

"I am David Rodriguez, Rangemen Inc." David steps forward and holds out his hand for Ray to shake. The cop ignores the gesture and just glowers at David. "We are here on behalf of a joint task force with the FBI."

"Sure you are buddy" Ray says condescendingly and in that moment a man in a suit stumbles through the front door.

"Sorry...sorry, I am late." he apologizes, while straightening his tie, jacket and the files in his hand, before looking up. "I am Special Agent Robert Dweeler, FBI. I see you have already met our friends from Rangemen." SA Dweeler flashes his badge at Ray, before turning to David. "Where is the suspect?"

"Not in custody, Sir" David answers automatically. "He has kidnapped the daughter and they are holed up at their house. He wants 700 big ones in coins."

"Which means that we have to get him at the exchange or we won't be able to trace the money and him once he gets away with it" The Agent replies on a sigh before turning towards me "Ms Plum...I need you to tell me everything in regards to the layout of the house and land…" Dweeler starts, but Ray interrupts him.

"What the hell is going on here?" Ray folds his arms over his chest. I have had enough of the pissing contest.

"We do not have time for this shit…" I say and push out of my seat. "He said for me to come alone, so that is what I am going to do." I make it one step towards the door, before a pair of beefy arms circle my torso and pull me back.

"I do not want to lose my job and my head today, so please stay until we have a plan, which hopefully does not include putting you in danger." Drago grumbles into my ear.

"He is right Ms Plum." SA Dweeler nods and then turns to Ray. "We need your conference room, please." He says it with what is clearly a forced smile, but his tone leaves no room for arguments. Despite all of that, I am still surprised when Ray just nods and leads us through the station and into the conference space.

"I will inform the Captain." Ray lets us know, before he disappears down the hall to presumingly do just that.

"Okay, Ms Plum…"

"Please call me Steph" I tell him and drop into one of the chairs lined up at the table.

"Steph, I need you to talk me through the layout of your property." SA Dweeler rolls out a map and when I lean forward, I am taken aback when I discover that it is a map of my land. I do not want to know how he got that so quickly. "We also need access to your Security System."

"You know the log in?" David hands me a tablet, just when the door opens and more Rangemen followed by the Police Captain file into the room. While SA Dweeler and the Captain talk quietly in one corner, I log into my security system on the tablet. The first picture that comes up, is Emma sitting with Mark on the ground of the living room playing with her Barbies. To anyone else looking at this it would seem like they are having a great time, but I can tell that Emma is alert and holds herself back. Thankfully she doesn't seem to be crying.

New tears run down my face and I try my best not to sob. These guys need to concentrate.

"Steph, we will get her back, I promise." Drago pulls my chair closer to his. I lean my head on his shoulder and he drops his massive arm around mine, effectively pulling me into a sideways hug.

"Aren't you not supposed to do that? Make promises to victims' relatives?" I query.

"Usually yes, but I know we will get her back." Drago replies. I lift my head slightly to look at him and see that he isn't cocky about it. He truly believes that we will get her back. "I know my and my team's capabilities. This doesn't even come close to the threshold of what we can do. We will get her back without a hair out of place."

I met this man ten minutes ago and I already like him more than people I have known for a very long time. "How did you guys get here so quickly?" I wonder. Carlos told me they would be four hours.

"Ranger doesn't just buy us fast cars and amazing weapons to look at them" My new friend answers with a chuckle. "Next time you come to Texas, I will show you all we have got. Bossman really embraced the Texas Spirit."

Before I can reply, a phone appears in my peripheral vision. "Ranger is on the line for you." It's David holding out his cell.

"Carlos?" I lift my head from Drago's shoulder, sitting up straight. Drago in turn gets up and walks over to where all Rangemen are now focused on the map of my property and the camera feeds on the tablet. From time to time someone points at something and then there are several nods or shakes of the heads.

"Hey Babe, how are you holding up?" His voice is like balm for my frayed nerves. It washes over me like a calming breeze. "We will bring her home, I promise you that."

"I just...fuck" Despite the calmness, I start crying again. "If he so much as breaks a hair on her head, I will kill him." I growl, forgetting that I am in a police station, with the Head of the Police Department just meters away from me.

"You won't do a thing. Emma needs you." Carlos answers.

"He can't get away with this."

"And he won't...trust me." I get told in return.

"I do, with our lives."

"And you won't regret it…. I will be there in seven hours. We don't want to draw this out too long, because he may get antsy and I trust my guys to see you two through this. It will be okay, Babe."

"Saying thank you seems inadequate to what you are doing for us" I stand and walk over to the window, where a family walks by with smiles on their faces, oblivious to what is going on in here, to what horrors Emma and I have to endure.

"You don't need to say anything. I will see you soon, even if I have to shoot the pilot and fly this thing myself to be there quicker." Carlos answers, making me chuckle. "Can you pass me back to David?"

"Okay" Walking over to where the man in question is hunched over the map. I hand him the phone and he instantly puts it on speaker.

"Alright, walk us through the property" David orders with a look at me.


	23. Chapter 23

"Just follow the plan" Carlos says down the line. He is still in the air for another hour, but we cannot wait any longer. The team answered Mark, saying that I needed time to get the money and he replied ' _Before midnight, or else_ '. He doesn't need to clarify to me what _or else_ means, because my imagination has done that on its own.

So they all, including Ranger and the guys in the air via phone, concocted a plan of action.

"I will" I nod.

"We will take good care of her Bossman" David calls out from his hiding space in the boot. He is the only one who is accompanying me. The rest of the Rangemen crew, police and SA Dweeler left the station in small groups five hours ago and hiked up the mountain. With the cabin being the centre point, each individual team was to cast a wide net and then move inwards picking off any men that Mark may have hidden in the woods. One of those teams will enter the tunnel, when I walk into the house. In theory the enemies eyes will be on me rather than any ongoing around or beneath the house.

While there is no indication that Mark has discovered the Security feed, I will have to park as close as possible to the house in order for David to get out of the trunk undetected.

As the cabin comes into view, adrenaline starts pumping through my veins again. I am terrified. Nothing can go wrong. I cannot lose Emma.

"Just remember, I will be listening the whole time." I have a necklace with a heart pendant around my neck now, courtesy of Rangemen. That piece of jewelry has a camera and microphone in it, so all teams can watch what is going on inside. "I will see you on the other side." He adds and the phone goes silent.

* * *

**Ranger's POV**

Sitting on the sidelines has never been this hard. I want to be there. I want to hold Steph's hand and I also want to kill this motherfucker, who had the audacity to kidnap Emma.

"I will see you on the other side." I tell her and then hang up. She is approaching the house now. Thanks to Hector, I will only be able to listen to her and the on ground radio chatter. How he worked that magic, I have no idea, but I am not complaining.

"Fuck this sucks. I want to be on the ground. A nice 50 cal should do the trick... right between his fucking eyes." Hal mutters, looking at the big flat screen TV which is mounted to the wall of the plane.

"He will get what's coming to him" I assure him. "He won't see the inside….what the fuck is that?" I ask and lean forward.

"Your girl is packing." Manny answers matter of fact.

"Shit... I should have told them to search her and the car...Fuck!" I shake my head, as I watch Steph slip the Baretta into the back of her pants.

" _Steph...leave the gun_ " David must have been following on the video feed too.

" _No...I get a chance I will drop him dead_ "

" _And then his goon will drop you. Leave the gun._ "

" _If I get a chance, I will kill him._ "

" _You better make sure you drop his goon first…_ "

" _Not my first rodeo_ " Babe answers and gets out of the car, effectively ending the conversation.

" _All teams be advised that Stephanie has a gun. I repeat Stephanie is packing._ "


	24. Chapter 24

**Steph's POV**

When I get out of the car, I tuck my flannel shirt over my pants to conceal my , while closing the car door, I slip the earpiece into my right ear. David insisted I wear it, so that he can update me. I shake out my trembling hands, before grabbing the door handle and letting myself into the house. It is quiet in here, but the energy is off. It feels too tense.

I walk past the downstairs toilet, where the bucket with the mob is still sitting in the same spot I abandoned it at earlier, and then round the staircase and walk into the living room. As soon as I step into the room, Mark's face transforms with a grin "Well, Well, Well...you made it." As soon as Emma sees me, her whole face morphs into a happy one.

"Mom!" My little girl seems relieved, but oblivious to the fact that the big guy behind her just raised his gun at me. She tries to get up, but Mark's hands clamp down on her shoulder, holding her in place. "Let me go, I wanna give her a hug." Emma demands with narrowed eyes.

"In a moment, kid" Mark assures her and pats her shoulder.

I can see the suspicion growing behind her eyes, so I quickly assure her "Go on, colour another picture for me. I need to update the one on the fridge." Her eyes narrow even further, but she does as she is told. I really hope they treated her right. Between the Kidnapping Bikers and now this, I hope she won't have any lasting psychological issues. And I also hope that she is blissfully unaware what is really going on here, but deep down I know she is too smart not to have figured it out.

"You got my money?" Mark questions and I nod. "Give it to me."

"I will hand it to you outside. You and your man clear out and you will get what you came for." I counter.

"Are you taking me for a fool?"

" _The money is your only leverage. Get him into the hallway._ " David speaks into my ear. " _I am in the downstairs toilet._ "

"Are you taking me for one?" I ask in return. "Get away from Emma and you will get your money" At the mention of her name, my little girl looks up again and her eyes ping pong from me to Mark and back again.

"Roman will stay with her and I will come out with you" Mark negotiates.

" _B team in position, we have eyes on the target_ " comes in through the earpiece. Not sure who spoke, but it tells me someone is outside keeping an eye on Emma and the goon.

" _C Team in position_ " That is the team that is coming through the tunnel.

" _A team in position_ " David confirms as well.

"Fine" I nod and motion towards the front door. "I will be right back, Pumpkin."

"Let's not waste anymore time," Mark hisses into my ear when he steps next to me and pushes me towards the front door. Once out of sight, I turn around and grab the gun out of the back of my pants and point it at him. "Put that away" He growls. "Wouldn't want anything to happen to Emma." He tacks on in a warning tone.

" _Teams you have the go-ahead_ " the order comes through the earpiece at the same time as the bathroom door opens behind me. I know it is David, so I don't pay much attention to it.

My attention does veer when I hear a loud groan from the living room. Mark uses that moment to lunge at me, but my reflexes take over and I just hit him with the butt of the gun right above his eyebrow. Mark goes down with a groan. Blood instantly starts oozing from the gash.

"Is Emma okay?" I shout towards the other room and only receive muffled laughter as an answer. I briefly glance at David and then back at the man in front of me. Before I can ask for an update on Emma, more chuckles come through the earpiece followed by ' _She is fine. The little ninja head butted target two in the nuts_ ', which causes me to smirk.

"Fuck, I probably have a concussion" Mark groans and holds his head in his hands.

"That is the least you deserve." I tell him. "You were Dickie's friend, his partner...and you poisoned him...killed him." The anger that I have been pushing down ever since I found out is now bubbling over. "The little girl in there had to see her father die!"

"He deserved it, after he took all that money." Mark retrots and tries to get up.

"Eh ehh...you stay down buddy" David warns, with his gun also trained on the man on the ground.

"You murdered my husband…I know he wasn't a good person, but you still deprived Emma of having a relationship with him."

"You never wanted him to meet her anyways" Mark retorts. "So that blame is firmly on you."

"Once she was old enough, I would have been able to explain all of this to her. Yet you took that choice away from me and her."

After some time of us staring at each other, he sighs "The feds were never supposed to get involved" and that makes my whole body freeze on the spot.

"You mean with you killing a prisoner, bribing a doctor, the warden and owing huge amounts to the wrong people? Suuuure how could they not get involved" I probe, but deep down I know that this is not what he is referring to.

"No, you stupid..." He starts, but with one look at David, he swallows what he was going to say and instead adds "Dickie's embezzlement, the feds weren't supposed to get involved." For once in my life I keep quiet. I want to see what else he is going to admit to. "I told him...I fucking told him that I would leak everything I knew to the press, if he didn't pay me to keep my mouth shut. But Dickie didn't believe I had anything on him, so he shrugged it off…. It was true at the time, but I had my suspicions, so I sent an anonymous tip to the paper." He shrugs, as if to say ' _what else should I have done?_ '. "Gave them just enough to dig or at least write a ' _rumour has it_ ' article, so that Dickie would get nervous."

"I don't even know what to say to that…" I gape at him in disbelief. "All of this to pay off your debt….It is so convoluted. Instead of blackmailing him, you could have just asked him for money...Dickie would have given it to you, no questions asked." When Dickie talked about Mark, you could tell he idolized the man.

"He already had given me money. He knew about my addiction….Dickie didn't want to give me any more. So I had no choice... I started rumours at the Country Club to give Dickie a bad standing in his social circle. I pressured him for money again, said I would spread more rumors...one thing Dickie loved above all else was his fucking reputation. Unfortunately that is when the feds came and took everything."

"He was only going to be in prison for ten years. Why not leave it alone, why kill my husband?"

"IT WASN'T SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN LIKE THIS" Mark shouts.

"Like what? How was it supposed to happen Mark?" I ask. "After all of the blackmail you apparently put him through, Dickie still trusted you. He made you his lawyer for chrissakes. You could have simply asked again for the money."

"I wasn't his lawyer." _Excuse me?_ "Dickie didn't hire me to represent him, he hired Michelle Taylor."

"The Junior Associate?" I always had a feeling about Michelle and I think those are going to be proved right in just a second.

"Yes. They had an affair before Dickie started his campaign for Mayor." Mark confirms what I already knew deep down. "They were close and stayed close over the years."

"All the court documents had your name on them" I remember this specifically, because I was glad that Mark had Dickie's back through all of this. I was happy that at least someone stood by him.

"It was a High Profile case and the partners agreed that a Junior Associate shouldn't have her name on it."

"Okay, so how did you come into possession of the will? How did you find out about the Bankaccount? If you weren't his lawyer, you wouldn't have access to any of it."

"Like I said, they had an affair and remained close, even during his time in prison." Mark says, as if he wants to twist the knife a little deeper. While it hurts to have it confirmed, it is heartbreaking any more. "I found out about the Swiss bank account by accident. During a Company party, a couple of years after his incarceration, people were talking about the deal he struck and Michelle mentioned the letter he wrote for you." Mark explains and all the while looking around as if he is trying to figure a way out of here. With two more Rangemen just having come up behind him, there is no way out. "I looked into his files and sure enough there was the letter and the mention of the bank account including all documentation for it."

"So you saw a way to solve all of your problems…"

"Yes….But before that I needed to get rid of Michelle. I made some calls and got her a lucrative position in Texas, where her family is from. Due to the contract she signed, she couldn't take any existing clients away from the firm."

"Which means Dickie stayed a client with you."

"Correct. The partners decided it made sense for me to take over, because they knew we had always been close." Mark shrugs and wipes some of the blood from his eye.

"Why not ask for the money again? You could have said someone had approached your firm claiming he owed them money."

"Tried, but Dickie knew too well who he owed what to. I also found out that he paid every single one of his debts off before he went inside, because he didn't want them to come after you."

"So the only way was to kill him….I just don't get why you did it over years, rather than a quick shanking."

"Killing him off quickly would have sparked too many questions, since Fort Dix is a low security prison. White Collar criminals generally don't shank people, they make friends inside and think up their next scheme." Mark answers nonchalantly. "So I had to bide my time."

"What did you give him?"

"Arsenic" He grins. "Causes all kinds of problems and it takes its time. The doctors and warden were paid off, so no one else caught on."

I have to admit, his thinking is good, his execution was just not up to par. "You could have gotten away with it, if you hadn't gotten Emma kidnapped."

"You would have paid?" Mark looks at me doubtful.

"I guess we will never know" I shrug. When I see Special Agent Dweeler approach behind the Rangemen from the living room, I add "Now... you won't go to a low security prison. You won't have a good life. Attempted Murder, kidnapping...it all adds up Mark. I am sure Agent Dweeler behind you will find you a prison which houses all of your clients."

And with that I lower my gun and walk around them all into the living room, where the goon is lying on his side, still holding his nuts, and Emma is talking animatedly with the Ramgemen. Relief like I never felt before floods through me and tears pool in my eyes. We are finally free of all of it.


	25. Chapter 25

**Author's Note:**

**First of all, the below is not yet the end. I have a few more chapters I am going to publish, but they are not quiet done yet.**

**And then I wanted to tell all of you, thank you very much for reading along, commenting, favoriteing etc. especially because this story has been in the works for a long time, so thank you for sticking around. It means the world to me. While I haven't responded to any comments on the recent chapters, I appreciate them all and read each and everyone of them.**

**Enjoy the next chapter!**

**Ranger's POV**

"Jesus, take it easy" Les mutters, when I peel around the corner and up the hill. "They are fine, you can slow down." I briefly avert my eyes from the road to Les to shoot him a glare. I need to see for myself that Steph and Emma are okay. Hearing over the radio what went down wasn't easy. I have never been good at sitting on the sidelines.

"What's your problem with my driving? You didn't take an issue with that before."

"You don't know these back roads…" Les answers.

"I didn't know the roads in North Korea either…" I point out.

"Well that was different..."

"How so?"

"I'd rather die than be tortured by North Koreans or go into one of their labour camps." Les exclaims. "So you driving like a maniac wasn't an issue, because we needed to get the fuck out of there. I am too pretty to die young on US soil."

"Noted" I answer just to be done with this conversation. While Manny and Hal snicker in the backseat, Les just keeps grumbling about my driving.

"That is a nice fucking house." Comes from Les when I round the last corner to Steph's property a few minutes later. I have seen it before, when I was here all those months ago to drop the letter off and had to do some recon. That day seems like a lifetime ago. The driveway is full of Rangemen and one suit, which I assume is Agent Dweeler.

I come to a full stop with squealing tires and then jump out of the car. "Where is she?" I shout at David on my way past them towards the house.

"Inside" is his only reply. Without acknowledging anybody else, I run into the house. "Steph?"

"BATMAN" Emma shouts at the top of her lunges. I do two more steps, before a tiny body collides with mine.

"Hey speedy" I grin and pick her up. Out of my peripheral vision I can see Steph joining us next to the stairs. "You okay?"

"Mhhh… Did you bring Doughnuts like you promised?"

"I am sorry, I forgot. I was in a bit of a rush to get here" When her face falls, I add "Let's go into town tomorrow and I will find you some other sweets instead."

"Oh three C's has the best" Her whole face transforms into a dreamy smile that only a child could get when thinking of candy. "Cameron's Ciller Candies… ciller is por...uhm..pro-noounced like killer but written with a c." she explains to me.

"And why is it written with a C?" I query intrigued by the misspelled name.

"Cameron's brother was in charge of making the sign and thought it was funny" Steph chimes in. "Pumpkin, I gotta talk to Carlos for a moment. Why don't you go up to your room and play with your toys?"

"I will take her" comes from behind us. Steph doesn't seem to have heard Les come in and she jerks her eyes from mine to his. "What do you say Emma, you want to share your toys with me for a bit?"

Emma instantly grabs his hand and pulls him up the stairs. "Oh you will love the Matchbox set Uncle Joe got me for Christmas last year. It is amahhhhzing. I also got a racing track, but mom always makes me put it away...so we have to build…" Her voice trails off once they hit the top step.

I focus my eyes back on Steph and hold out my hand to her. "How are you doing?" As soon as her fingers touch mine, I pull her into my embrace. My heart instantly starts beating fast for a whole other reason and the worry and dread I have had in my stomach for the past few hours fades away.

"I don't know to be honest…" Steph mumbles into my chest, then wraps her arms around my midsection. "I am worried about her. After the kidnapping, there were no nightmares, which I should be glad about, but it also worries me that she internalizes everything."

"Remember what Bobby said. She will be fine. He is going to keep talking to her every week and he is sharing her sessions with a friend of his who deals with child psychology, so there are multiple people looking out for her." I tighten my embrace and she burrows further into my arms. When I feel something wet hit my shirt, I pull away slightly to look down at her and it breaks my heart. I think Steph has just hit emotional rock bottom. "Come on, let's get you something stiff to drink." Instead of guiding her through, I pick her up and as intended that gets a squeal and a small laugh out of her.

"Carlos….put me down." She demands half heartedly with an emotional clogged voice, but a smile on her face.

"Nope, be prepared to be carried everywhere for the rest of the day." Once in the living room, I place her on the couch and go and hunt for a bottle of booze. I find it an unopened bottle of Jacks on the top shelf in her pantry. On my way back to her I grab two glasses, since I need a stiff drink too. I swear the last few hours took years of my life.

I make short work of filling the glasses with two fingers of JD and then clink my glass to hers. "To Emma and you." We both drown it as if it were a shot. The alcohol burning down my throat is a welcome feeling.

"She just headbutted him into his family jewels" Is the next thing that comes out of Steph's mouth and I nearly spit my drink out. I already know that that is what Emma did, but the way Steph just said that, has me chuckling.

"She takes after her mother" I reply with a shrug, once I get myself back under control, and then pour more alcohol into our glasses. I know from an update David gave us, after Johnson was secured and picked up by the local cops, that Steph and Emma already gave their statements to Dweeler, so liquring her up won't affect that.

"I could have lost her today" She shakes her head in disbelief and buries her head in her hands. "I am such a bad mother."

"No, you are not" I assure her and pull her hands away from her face. "This is not your fault. I should have foreseen him doing something like this...I should have gotten someone to stay with you."

"If it is not my fault, it is definitely not yours" She counters. That may be true, but I will carry this with me for a long time. Not that I will ever admit that.

"You are a great mother Babe. As soon as you saw him coming you got out of the house undetected and burned rubber down the mountain to get to her…..I think you should talk to someone about all of this as well." I suggest and when she is about to protest, I add "You have been carrying all of this on your own for too long. You gotta let it out and while you can talk to me, I think a professional will be able to guide you through this better….you don't have to decide now, but it is something to think about."

Before Steph can say anything else, Emma comes running down the steps, shouting "Moooom?" Steph is immediately out of her seat and halfway across the room with a worried look on her face, when Emma comes barreling into the room.

"Is everything okay?" Steph looks from her daughter to Les, who came down the steps at a more leisurely pace, for any sign that something is wrong.

"Can we have pizza for dinner?"

Babe's face instantly relaxes and a smile tugs at her lips. "So you not only want Candy, but Pizza too?" Emma just nods and gives her mother the puppy dog look. "Well...I think we can make an exception today….."

With a smug look, Emma turns around to Les and says "See, I told you I would get both." Which has me suppressing a grin and Steph just shaking her head at her daughters antics.


	26. Chapter 26

**Steph's POV**

_Seven months later_

"I miss you" Emma tells Carlos over Facetime and I cannot help but smile. These two have gotten very close over the last few months since the day Mark came and ruined our lives for the last time.

Carlos was only supposed to stay for four days, but he took more time off and stayed with us for a month, before he had to go back to Trenton. Since then he has been back here multiple times and we went to Trenton twice. Once over the Christmas holidays and the next time to testify against Mark in court. Thankfully he is never getting out. The FBI also found the two 'cops' who had picked up Emma and put them behind bars too.

Luckily, with Bobby's help, Emma has been coping well with everything that happened. Despite a couple of months of nightmare filled nights, she is fine and happy as ever.

"I miss you too, little one. Just a couple of more months and then you will be here for ten weeks!" Carlos answers, bringing me back to the present. I suppress a smile, because Emma and I have been keeping a secret, which we plan to tell him when we get back to Trenton. Ric isn't able to fly over till then, because Washington called. He has to go on a mission. Which means, unfortunately we won't see him for the next couple of months, but it also means we won't accidentally spill the beans before we get to Trenton.

"Cannot wait" Emma grins and then looks at me and winks. I really thought that she would have cracked under pressure right about now, but so far she has been keeping it in. "See ya" she throws him a kiss through the screen, then hands the tablet to me, before running off.

"Put your jacket on!" I shout after her, when I hear the front door open. While we had a few warm days recently, it snowed last night and the temperatures went below zero again. I turn my face to the screen and explain "Raymond has been hanging around outside."

"My heart still hasn't recovered from seeing her so close to him" His pained expression makes me laugh. The first time he saw her interacting with the bear, he pulled his glock out. Carlos would have shot him, if it hadn't been for Emma giggling when Raymond licked honey off her fingers.

"When are you leaving?" I query and walk into the kitchen to make a cup of coffee.

"Tonight at 2200" He answers and I watch him lean back in his office chair. "This is going to suck Babe…" I smile at that. "I never had anyone to miss before." And there goes my heart.

"Just don't get shot." I warn him.

"I thought chicks dig scars?" A smile is playing on his lips when he says it. Good god he is handsome.

"Well then don't get shot in the important bits….like your head, heart...and dick" I grin.

"I shall pack my kevlar cup" He grins. I laugh out loud and shake my head. "Seriously though, I am going to miss talking to you."

"Send me a postcard" I shrug as if it is no big deal, but it is. It is going to be the first time since we got together that he is going to be away for an extended period of time, without being able to tell me where he is going and what he is doing. There have been a few minor missions he was called to, but he was generally home within a week.

He sobers. His beautiful smile disappears. "Are you sure you are still okay with this?"

"Carlos...I told you, I am all in. While I don't like it, I know it is your job." I shrug. "Now...tell me what Les has been up to."

For the next hour he proceeds to tell me about Les's latest antics, Bobby's lack of luck with women and Tank's refusal to allow Lula to paint their house as colourful as her apartment. By the time we hang up, my stomach hurts from laughter.

"Is he gone?" Emma asks when she comes back inside, with red cheeks and snow stuck in her hair. I just nod. "It is really hard to keep it a secret Mom."

"I know...come here for a second." I hold out my hand and motion for her to sit on my lap. When I lean in her face is cold and so are her hands. She must have not put any gloves on again. "Are you still okay with this plan? You know I would never force you into this."

"Mom" Emma rolls her eyes at me. "I am okay….but it is lucky he cannot contact us in the next couple of months...it is _kiiiilling_ me to keep this from him" She adds, making me snort. I really need to watch how I say things around her. She is imitating me far too much of late.

"Got it. Now go and play. I need to get started on dinner."

* * *

**Ranger**

_Two months later_

"Welcome home" Tank grunts when I approach the car.

"Thanks" I nod and let out a grunt as well, when he pounds one of the meat hooks he calls hands on my back in greeting.

"You got it all settled?" He queries once we are both in the Rangemen SUV.

"Yupp" I grin. I cannot wait to tell Steph and Emma.

"A surprise visitor arrived two days ago." Tank informs me and when I look at him, he looks unsure. Tank never looks unsure, that is why I steel myself for what he is going to add. "Julie showed up."

"Uhh say what?" I don't think I heard him correctly.

"You remember Julie? Your daughter, your little mini-me, cute as a button but with your attitude?" my smart ass best friend asks, but before I can snap at him, he adds with a grin "She showed up at Rangemen two days ago and said she would be staying with you for a while. Since you weren't home, she is staying with Les for the time being."

"You called Rachel?"

"Yupp, but no answer. Since her parents are dead, we tried reaching out to Ron's folks, but only their housekeeper picked up and told us that all of them are on a Cruise and Julie didn't want to go and was going to stay with friends."

"How did she get from Florida to Trenton by herself? She cannot fly on her own, she is only thirteen!"

"She wouldn't tell us." Tank shrugs.

"That is very telling" I reply and various scenarios of how my daughter got from there to here run through my head. And none of them are good. "Housekeeper tell you what Cruise Ship they are on?"

"Yes" Tank nods. "We knew that you'd get back today, so we thought we are going to leave the pleasure of informing Rachel of Julie's whereabouts to you." My friend does not like Rachel, never has. And after she made me sign over my rights and barely allows me to speak to my daughter, his distaste for her worsened.

"You should have called her" I exclaim. "Did you at least make sure the friends know where Julie is?"

"Of course...I am not about to worry someone who doesn't deserve it" Tank replies nonchalantly. LIke I said, he dislikes Rachel. If she was on fire Tank would not piss on her.

"Welcome home to me, I guess!" I grumble. It is not like I am not happy that Julie came to me, but the prospect of telling Rachel is seriously dampening that happiness. "She is going to be pissed."

* * *

"Dad, before you say anything…" Julie starts, as she watches me approach with big, unsure eyes. She is clearly nervous and vary if she is welcome here or not and that just makes me curse Rachel inwardly and breaks my heart at the same time.

While I am pissed she most likely hitchhiked to Trenton and I will have words with her about that, I don't ever want her to think she isn't welcome here. So I do the only thing I can think of: I walk up to her without a word and wrap her into a tight hug. After a second of hesitation, my daughter wraps her arms around me as well.

Last time I saw her in person was five years ago for her birthday. I had just come back from a particular grueling mission and all I wanted to do is see my kid. I flew out to Miami and stayed there for four weeks, because the first two, Rachel refused to let me see her. Kept making excuses. That was also the trip I got Julie a phone, so she could always contact me whenever she wanted. Unfortunately Rachel confiscated the phone. Since then our conversations have always been via video or messages under Rachel's supervision.

To give us privacy, I walk us into my office and shut the door, while still keeping my arms around her. I clear my throat, before I say "Let me look at you." We both pull apart and I cannot help to see myself in her. She has my black hair; hers goes past her shoulders compared to mine which is shaved off; and my brown eyes. Her skin colour is a little lighter than my own, but there is no denying that we are related. "You are beautiful." I add, making her blush, which in turn makes me smile. Julie has grown so much. She is a teenager now.

"Are you hungry?" I question, still staring at her. I cannot believe that she is here.

"I could eat" She grins.

"It's lunch time, so Pizza?" I ask and receive an enthusiastic nod in return. While it is not my choice of food, I know she enjoys it, like any teenager.

Twenty minutes later we are sitting in a booth at Pino's. "So...you want to tell me how you got here and why you are not staying with your friends, as you were supposed to?" I try to sound as casual as possible. I don't want her to think I am mad at her causing her to just clam up and not talk to me at all.

"Dad...please don't make a big deal out of this." Julie pleads and takes a sip from her chocolate milkshake. When she sees the look on my face, she sighs. "Fine...I took the train."

"Alone?"

"No…" And when she doesn't add anything, she lets out another sigh, takes another sip to stall and then adds "My friend Andrea came with me."

"Julie….just tell me the whole story, please." I plead with her.

"Andrea's parents were in a car accident a few days ago, just a day after Mom and Dad left." It is not the first time I heard Julie call Ron dad, but it still feels like she is stabbing me right in the heart every time she does. "They are going to be okay, but they are still in the hospital. Her dad broke both his legs and her mother has a head injury they need to keep under observation. Andrea's Aunt lives in New York, so they sent us on a train, because her Aunt still had to work and we cannot fly on our own. New York is really close to Trenton, so I figured I could come and stay with you until Mom and Ron are back."

"What did you tell Andrea's Aunt?"

"I told her you invited me to stay and Mom is totally okay with it."

Rachel would not _totally_ be okay with it. "Julie...you lied."

"She never lets me speak to you or contact you or see you without her hovering in the background!" She exclaims, anger flaring up in her eyes. "I thought this was the golden opportunity to see you without Mom being close." Julie ends on a shrug. "If you don't want me here…"

"Of course I want you here" I interject immediately. "But it is going to cause issues with your mom. I don't want to cause any tension between you two." That is the last thing I want, despite how much I might dislike my ex-wife. "I will have to call her."

"BATMAN" a familiar voice shouts across Pino's and when I turn my head I see Emma running through the Restaurant with Steph hot on her heels.

"Emma! What did I tell you about running?" Steph chides her daughter, just as she flies into my arms.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" I grin down at the tiny person that is now sitting in my lap.

"Surprise" She grins back at me.

"I am sorry, I tried to guide her away, seeing as you are busy, but she wouldn't listen." Steph rolls her eyes. My heart skips a beat just looking at her. It's been months since I have seen her in person and two months since I was able to see her on screen. I missed her and Emma. As much as I want to pull her in for a kiss, Julie doesn't know about them yet because I had planned to fly down to Miami to tell her in person. And looking at my daughters face tells me kissing Steph would be the wrong thing to do right now. "Hi, I am Steph and the little hellion over there is my daughter Emma." My girlfriend adds and smiles at Julie.

"Julie" my daughter replies sullenly and without looking at the woman standing in front of the table. Instead she keeps her eyes on Emma and me. I can see the jealousy in her eyes, which breaks my heart.

"I have heard a lot about you," Steph tells her . "And it is nice to finally meet you."

"Well, I never heard about you, so..." Julie answers, while still keeping her eye on Emma and me. I shoot Steph an apologetic smile.

"Julie…" I start, but Emma interrupts me.

"You are Batman's daughter?" Emma turns her head to look at Julie. "WOOOW you are pretty." The little hellion adds, but it doesn't help the jealousy in Julie's eyes.

"Okay Emma, time to go. We promised Uncle Joe Pizza, remember?" Steph holds out her hand and winks at me. And fuck me if I don't fall in love with her a little more.

"Finnnne, but we still have to tell him the secret." Emma answers in a huff and looks from her mother to me.

"Secret?" I query and look at Steph, who just shakes her head with a playful smile on her lips. "And also aren't you supposed to be still at the West Coast?" I ask, when I remember Steph telling me they would arrive on the twenty-second and today is the twentieth.

"I will call you later." Steph answers instead and then grabs Emma out of my arms.

Once they are gone, Julie asks with an attitude only a jealous teenager can muster "That your girlfriend?"

There is no sense in lying. "Yes."

"Lucky she has a daughter, huh? A perfect little girl."

"Julie…"

"Oh don't worry, it's okay, I knew you'd replace me eventually." Julie states and then gets up and walks out of Pino's. I quickly throw some money on the table, before running after her, but not without exchanging a look with Steph.

"JULIE" I call out after her, but she doesn't even turn around. Instead she keeps speed walking down the road. Instead of running after her, I jump into the SUV. "Julie...get in the car." I say when I slow down next to her.

"No...go back to your new family."

"Julie, you cannot walk all the way back to Haywood. Get in the car, please." That gets her to stop, walk between the parked cars on the side of the road and get into the car. "Thank you." I add, before speeding up.

"Where are we going?" My sulking daughter queries five minutes later when I pull into a different Trenton neighbourhood.

"You will see" I tell her and continue down the road. Not even a couple of minutes later, I pull up to an Iron gate. I press the keyfob in my pocket and the gate opens.

"What is this?"

"It is my house." I state. I park right in front of the modern, two story, white painted home I purchased a few years ago. Granted I do not spend a lot of time here, preferring the short commute down the elevator from seven to the twenty minute drive from here to the Office.

"I didn't know you had a house."

"There are a lot of things you don't know about me" I inform my daughter, before getting out of the car. "But that is not your fault. It is mine." I add at the same time Julie answers angrily "Yeah well, whose fault is that?" and slams the door, to emphasise her mood.

"Let's talk inside" I don't want to get into an argument for everyone of my neighbours to hear. The properties around her are quite big, which is great if you are looking for peace and quiet, but that also means voices carry. I guide her through the front door, past the grand staircase that leads to the second floor and into the big living room with its floor to ceiling windows looking over the big backyard and pool.

"This house feels cold." Julie comments, but looks around with interest. She isn't wrong. The previous owners were very much into minimalism and had decorated everything in either white or grey from the walls to the furniture. I bought the house in foreclosure with all its contents and since I do not spend that much time here, I haven't gotten around to hiring someone to redecorate to my wishes. The only thing I purchased was a new king bed, a big, black comfortable sofa and a big Flat Screen TV.

"I know. The former owners left me everything and I haven't gotten around to changing it."

"You are not here often." Julie observes.

"I work a lot" I shrug. "It is easier to stay at Rangemen." She knows I have an apartment there.

We both take a seat on the couch. While Julie is still looking around, I watch her and try to figure out what to tell her. "There is no need to be jealous of Emma and Steph."

"I know" comes from Julie. "But, I just…."

I wait for her to say more, but she doesn't. "Steph and I met a year ago. I didn't think I would ever find someone again who I could be with long term, but I think Steph will be it. Steph and Emma come in a package deal, but please do not think that I am replacing Emma with you. That would not be fair to either of you. If we, and I believe we will, go the distance, she will become your family too and it would mean a lot to me if you could give her a chance and get along" Since Julie is still not looking at me, I continue with something I maybe should have addressed long before now, but I always thought she wasn't old enough to understand. "I am sorry I wasn't there when you grew up. I truly believed that when your mother announced she was going to marry Ron, that it was the best for you."

"You were wrong."

Her answer puts me on instant alert. But before I let my imagination run wild, I ask "Did something happen?"

"Not really." Julie shrugs, takes her shoes off and draws her legs up and under her. After a few minutes of silence, she adds "Ron loves the Twins more than me. Even though he says he doesn't, he treats me differently." The Twins, Rudy and Rose, are ten years younger than Julie and Ron and Rachel's biological children.

"They need a lot more attention, since they are younger" I try to reason with her.

"I know, but it...I don't know, Ron and I are not as close as we used to be." I suppress a grimace, because it feels like she just stabbed me in the heart again. "And mom...well she makes me babysit them all the time, she doesn't allow me to talk to you without her there...even though I want to get to know you. Even Grandma Ellis '' Ron's mother "said to mom that she should let me speak to you more often…Mom always made you out a workaholic, someone who doesn't care about anyone...so seeing that girl...I just..."

"Julie, I love you." I slide along the couch until I sit right next to her. I wrap my arms around her, before trying to explain my life. "The moment you were born, I felt this intense love for you...I cannot describe it. I wanted to protect you with every fibre of my being, so with my job being what it was, I really thought it was best for you if Ron became your father. I did it not because I didn't care or didn't love you, I did it because I care and because love you so much. Ron is a good man and I am sure he doesn't intend to make you feel like he loves you less than the Twins." I met the man a few times and I checked him out, he truly is a good man. Way too good for Rachel. "You should talk to him about it."

"Okay." Julie nods into my chest. "You love Steph?"

"I do." I tell her honestly. "She made me see that there is more to life than just work."

"Something I couldn't…"

"Julie…" I suppress a sigh and pull away so I can look at her. "When I found out your mom was pregnant, I married her and then joined the Army, because it was the best way to make enough money. That way you and your mom would always be taken care of. I don't know why your mom said I didn't care about you or anyone, but it isn't true. Not at all! If there had been another way for me to make the money I'd make by enlisting, I would have taken that job over this one any day, but other than becoming a criminal, this was the best way to ensure you would have a good life."

"But why did you give me up?" Julie asks with a voice so small, if I hadn't been sitting I would have keeled over. I never intended to cause her pain with my decision or make her feel like she didn't matter. I know that this thinking is mostly due to Rachel's influence, but I cannot bad mouth her mother. In time Julie may realize that Rachel isn't such a great person, but till that time comes I will keep my opinions to myself and will try a lot harder to have contact with my daughter.

"Ranger school came up, which meant more money, but also more time away. I spoke with your mother and we tried to make it work, but ultimately the time apart was too much on our relationship." Rachel and I were only a one-night stand and never meant to go long term, but Julie doesn't need to know that. "When your mom told me she was going to marry Ron and that he was willing to adopt you and be a father to you, I truly thought it was the right thing to do. My job was dangerous and the chances that I would come back either injured or dead were high." There is no sugar coating it. "And Ron had a nice stable life, he could always be there for you." I hope she understands my reasoning behind my decision, if not today but someday in the future. "After I signed my rights away, I didn't want to think about how I gave you up, so I pushed myself into work. I spent all my time training and on missions and then when we opened Rangemen, I used that as an excuse to take on more work, to not get to know you more. I figured you had a better life without me coming and going constantly. Only in the last few years I have seen the error of my ways. I know it is hard to believe, but I missed you everyday and I know I made poor attempts in the past to stay in touch with you. I should have insisted more with your mother and that is on me."

"Dad…" She starts, tears now in her eyes. As much as I want to wrap her back into my arms, I have to add some more.

"Steph made me realize that there is more to life and that life includes you. I still need to tell her, but I think you should be the first to know, I have just come back from my last international mission... well at least the less dangerous missions are over and done with." I shrug, as if it is no big deal, but as Les so eloquently pointed out 'It's a huge fucking deal'. Since I turned eighteen, I have known nothing else but the Army and Rangemen. While Rangemen might not be the Military, we run it like it is, so getting more into civilian life outside of Rangemen is going to be an adjustment. "While I still have to go away at times, I will do so in a training capacity only rather than active duty." Uncle Sam didn't want to completely let me go and asked me to train the next generation of Special ops. Before I left, I had it all worked out. First I was going to tell Steph and then I would spend more time with her in the mountains. The core team and I worked out that there is a market for a West Coast office and we are going to fly to LA and San Francisco soon to look at buildings. Then I was going to have a talk with Rachel to see if I could get to see Julie more often. "Which means I will have more time to come and visit you or for you to come and see me, if you want."

There is another silence, before Julie says "Can we order Pizza since we didn't get to it at the Restaurant?"

That makes me smile and nod. Maybe she got it or maybe her and I will have to have another talk sometime in the future.


End file.
